Our Turn
by stay4ever
Summary: Baylee was on the run from a dark past. Jacob was trying to move on with his life and was finally accepting his alpha responsibilities. The last thing either of them expected was to be tied down, no matter how much they tried to ignore it. Maybe the fates were finally telling them that it was their turn for a happy ending. (Strong language)
1. Chapter 1

"Where the…." Looking around I couldn't find anything I was actually looking for. "Fuck…" I mumbled again under my breath, very much aware that I was talking to nobody. Even Miles, my beloved Chow Chow Husky mix, was nowhere to be found in the small little apartment. Which meant he was up to trouble. I abandoned the search for an extension cord to turn a lamp on in search for my trouble-making dog.

I found him in the closet in my bedroom with his face in a box full of shoes.

"I don't know what you think you're doing!" I said and he startled before looking anywhere but me. "You little shit." I murmured but couldn't fight back the small smile that was coming. I headed back out into the main room that acted as a kitchen, dining room, and living room all in one. There is only so much space in a 650 square foot apartment, but at least with what little furniture I had, it wouldn't look so empty.

The shock of moving so quickly at least wasn't a complete culture shock. I was moving a little farther west of Seattle, coming from a town up north called Everett. Granted, the circumstances of the move were terrible but the physical move wasn't too bad. Staring at all the small boxes I had laid around in no order made me think about how I packed them and how they were packed so quickly that I had no idea what was in what box. That line of thinking was what leads down negative paths and I wasn't trying to go down that hole right now. I had an apartment, I was nowhere close to the hellhole I came from, and I was pretty isolated that I didn't think _he_ would ever have a chance to find me again.

When you're a child and your parents or friends read you stories of monsters and ghosts you get scared for a short amount of time and then carry on with your stress-free childhood because they are just stories and not at all true. Well nobody told me that when I grew up I was going to be in a real life horror story with a real life monster. And the monster I encountered makes the ones in the fairy tales and books seem tame.

Nobody ever tells you how to deal with the monster that manipulates and controls your every movement. You can't cover yourself with a bed sheet and pretend it went away. Someone you love chipping away at your self esteem and basically holding you captive in your own brain is more terrifying than any monster ever thought up for a children's story. That was behind me though and I was onto a better chapter in my life.

I spent the whole day putting everything away from the little boxes I had. Miles just walked around the small unit with me, probably waiting for me to drop any form of food. Unfortunately for both of us, I had none. For either of us. When I looked down and saw his sad eyes (he probably knew I had no food), I sighed and decided to search for a store. I pulled up the maps on my phone and found a small grocery store not too far from me and decided to head there to buy us both some form of dinner.

The map took me to the next town over to what looked like a reservation of some sort. I parked my beat up SUV and headed inside with what little money I had left after making the deposit on the apartment.

I headed inside and walked up and down the few aisles they had looking for dog food first. I eventually found the small pet section and picked up a bag of food that I knew wasn't going to last me long but something was better than nothing. I then held it against my hip like a small child and moseyed around thinking about what I was going to eat for myself.

"Shut the fuck up! I don't need to hear those details!" Someone loudly shouted from what sounded like an aisle over from me. I rolled my eyes assuming it was group of guys dicking around. I made my way over to the cereal selection and figured dry cereal would be able to last me a couple of days. I was peering around the selection when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a couple of guys turned down the same aisle. I didn't pay much attention and continued looking around at my options.

"Seriously, I'm happy you're happy and all but I don't give a shit about the personal details of your life" One of them said, obviously not caring that their conversation was being overheard.

"Can we just pick up what we came here for and be on with it?" One of them said and I finally looked over to see three very large linebacker looking guys. Like, steroid doped up, probably way too into body building, guys. My eyes widened before I quickly turned back to the cereal pretending like I didn't notice them.

"Let's grab a case of beer while we are here too!" One of them said, way too loudly.

"Jacob has enough beer at his place, we don't need any."

"No such thing as too much beer, Paul."

I felt intrusive for listening to their conversation so clearly but for whatever reason my brain just could not focus on the cereal boxes in front of me. I finally threw manners aside and turned to look at them again. They were being loud so they brought it on themselves, right?

The three of them all had similar builds and were all very tan with darker features. I suddenly remembered that I was near a reservation and they were probably natives to the area. Being the history buff that I was, or used to be, a small part of my brain was tempted to start asking them questions about the history of the area. They all looked like college linebackers who could beat the shit out of anything and anyone. They even made me feel short and I was 5'11 so I was used to being the taller one. Two of them were wearing shorts and cut off shirts while the other was in shorts and a normal tshirt which I thought was odd since it was mid September and it was getting far too chilly for shorts.

"Just grab a fucking case then. I don't-" I made eye contact with one of them and he stopped mid sentence. "Oh, sorry ma'am."

I felt like a deer in the headlights. I didn't even know which of the three were talking to me. The one in the middle's eyes were so dark and so captivating that I couldn't look away. Something in his expression too held me in what felt like a locked position. I seemed like time paused for a while before one of the trio broke out in a very loud, and I mean very very loud, laugh.

"Oh shit." The other one said but I barely registered that there were other people here. I finally snapped out of whatever mental block was happening to me and straightened up a bit, suddenly aware of how heavy the dog food was getting even though it was a smaller bag.

"Didn't mean to be rude!" The one who apologized earlier broke whatever weird aura had just happened to all of us.

"Oh! Uh…It's fine." I tried to smile but I'm sure it was this awkward grimace. I turned and looked back at the cereal still not really seeing it. I was mostly just hopping they would leave the aisle and go back to whatever they were doing.

"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new to the area?" The one laughing earlier asked and my brain started sending red flags out. Why would they ask such a question? I was very aware that I was one girl and there were three guys at the moment.

"Just passing by." I said and turned to look like I was fully invested in the cereal section. Maybe I didn't even need cereal. Let's see what other foods this store has to offer. I gave them a fake smile and turned and walked down the aisle hoping to forget this weird interaction. I ended up looking at canned goods thinking of maybe getting a can of soup. I ended up grabbing and can that had a pop-top on it since I didn't have a can opener and moved on. I eventually made it to the tiny little corner that sold alcohol, mostly beer, in the store. A bottle of wine sounded pretty good. Or even a six-pack of beer. I settled for a six-pack and as I was reaching for it, being mindful of balancing the food, I heard those guys again.

"We meet again!" One of them said and I definitely gave a obviously forced smile.

"Small store." I mumbled and made sure everything was balanced before straightening up.

"Leave her alone, Jared. You're making her uncomfortable." The handsome one with the eyes said. Those eyes. I once again caught myself staring at them.

"Ah, my bad." The one, I'm assuming Jared, raised his hands in a mock surrender.

"Uh…oh. It's okay." I stumbled over my words. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew they weren't trying to make me uncomfortable but I was always wary of new people.

Two of them moved to look at the wall of alcohol and carried on like I suddenly didn't exist.

"Sorry about them. They are obnoxious." Handsome one rolled his eyes.

"It's…fine." I mumbled getting ready to make my leave and put this odd shopping trip behind me. I had a loving man to return to. And that handsome man needed his kibble before he decided to eat my apartment.

"I'm Jacob, by the way. We live out here on the rez." He mentioned and I remembered thinking about the reservation when I entered the land.

"Nice to meet you." I smiled. If that's what the three of them looked like, then what the fuck was in the water out here?

"And you are…?" He trailed off and I debated for half a second on giving him a fake name. I already lied and told them I was only passing by. Should I carry on the farce?

"Baylee." I finally admitted, seeing no point in giving a fake name. "And it was nice to meet you but I have to get going." I sidestepped him and headed to the register where a very bored looking teenager sat.

I paid and scurried to my car like I was being chased, which was a ridiculous notion. I just wanted to get back to unpacking and hanging out with my main dude, Miles.

Back in the store, three wolves watched as the taller dirty blonde woman rushed out of the store.

"Didn't see that one coming!" Jared laughed and clapped Jacob on the back.

"Oh man, I can't wait to tell everyone! You finally imprinted! Maybe now you can finally get over that emo ass phase of yours and get on with your life!" Paul joined in.

"Seriously! It's been years and you still are hung up on the leech loving bit-" Jared didn't finish his sentence before he received a punch in the gut from the leader of the trio. "Okay, okay!" He coughed out.

Jacob's mood seemed to sour significantly in the last minute. He never thought he was going to imprint. Some people go their whole lives without it happening to them and now he had to imprint on some stranger who he wasn't even sure lived in the area. What the hell was he going to do now?

* * *

Closer by Kings of Leon was the inspiration for this intro.

I'm going to put a **trigger warning** on this story from here on out. Probably won't get too heavy for a little bit but just a warning for those who might be upset by some of the topics. My OC Baylee is going to have a bit of a troubled past few years. Normally I don't think you need this for character development but in this case I think Jacob needs to be the savior. He never got anything like that with Bella fully enough and I think it might help him feel more self fulfilled if he can help save someone, even if it's from themselves. All characters are around 20-23 years old. Set in the future of the twilight-verse. Life goes on for the werewolves even if it pauses for the vampires.

I gew up hardcore team Edward until I had to be an adult and live on my own and then I guess I slowly became team Jacob and how he seemed like the more healthy option. Still have a special place in my heart for the whole series and just want to see Jacob get his happy ending.

I _DO NOT_ own anything Twilight and it all came from the creative mind of Steph Meyer. I do own my OC (and my OC doggo) and that's about it.


	2. Chapter 2

It ended up taking several days to unpack and that's mostly just because it was an exhausting task. Most of unpacking consisted of just unpacking clothing but I was trying to make the tiny little apartment feel more like a home and less like a place I needed to rent on the fly. During the several days I had taken Miles out on several walks around the tiny town and even interviewed on the spot for a bartending position at what seemed to be the towns only bar. It was more so a hole in the wall type joint but it had character and I liked that. I knew it probably wasn't going to be enough to be able to pay all of her expenses so I made the plan to drive up to Port Angeles and look for a serving job at a higher end joint. Serving has been the only job she's ever had and at times she felt like she was selling herself short but money was money.

I stared out the window after finally packing up her last box, noticing the weather wasn't too bad and it was still early in the afternoon. I had already explored the area with Miles and decided to explore elsewhere. _Maybe the beaches around here would be cool,_ she thought. I pulled up the area on her phone and once I knew where I was generally headed I decided to just wing it from there.

I did, however, notice I was heading back on to reservation lands.

I parked and Miles jumped out the back seat and instantly his tail started wagging. I hooked him up on a leash just until I knew where the beach was and headed down a small trail. I could hear the water and smell it in the air so knew I had to be coming up on it. As soon as we approached, I couldn't help the smile that came across my face. Something about the scenery as a whole was so peaceful, even with the dark clouds looming above.

"You ready, boy?" I leaned down and unhooked the leash to the eager to run dog. He instantly took off down the beach chasing everything and anything. He occasionally would run through the water and I knew he was going to need a bath after this. Wasn't looking forward to that. We walked along the beach taking in the sight of the water while occasionally throwing a stick Miles would bring back to me.

Eventually I noticed a group of people appear a bit down the beach and they were all carrying things like coolers and what looked like footballs with them. Miles was still a ways ahead of her so I called after him. He stopped sniffing a piece of driftwood and looked at me.

"Come on!" I patted my leg and in that moment he also noticed the people down the beach. He turned to start heading that way. "Hey!" I yelled after him. "You little shit…" I couldn't help but mutter and jogged after him. He was friendly so I wasn't worried about him attacking but other people didn't know that and he was a little on the large side so I didn't want to unnecessarily worry anyone.

"Well what do we have here!" one of the voices boomed as Miles crept his way up to the group of strangers.

"He's friendly!" I yelled and waved a hand. I watched one of the guys stick his hand out towards Miles as he sniffed the hand before deciding that this was a friendly group.

It wasn't until I was walking up to them with an apology already on the tip of my lips did I notice it was the familiar line back looking guys from the store. Shit…

"Uh." Was all I could mutter for a second. "Sorry about him! He's friendly, I promise." I finally managed to spit out.

"Hey! It's the girl from the market!"

"Jake, look who it is!"

"So this is the girl!"

I could barely keep up with all that was being said at once. That is, until the one with the eyes was standing right in front of me. In the back of my head I knew I should be ignoring all of them and grabbing my dog.

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a snarkier tone and I guess that was the last thing I thought was going to come out of his mouth.

"Uh…" I stuttered again. Those fucking eyes were going to kill me and I didn't even know this guy. They were so clouded with confusion and a hint of anger. "Dog." I cleverly admitted. I finally broke whatever spell he had me under and looked around him to see Miles making friends with several guys who all looked like they were on steroids. Something was definitely in the water around here…

"Sorry for interrupting. Miles! Let's go!" My brain finally cleared enough for me to say.

"No problem!" One of the guys from the store waved. "This is an awesome dog. What's the name?" He asked.

"Miles. He's a chow-husky mix." I clarified. "And he's in trouble for running off." I glared at him.

"Oh, he's fine! He's just a big softy looking for some love." He laughed as my dog rolled over so he could get his belly scratched with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. He was the picture of contentment. I almost felt bad for making him leave. Almost.

"I thought you were just passing through." The rude one mentioned with a hint of bitterness. What the hell was this guy's problem? I was equally annoyed as I was embarrassed that I was caught in a lie.

"Haven't decided yet." I rolled my eyes when he wasn't looking and heard some snickering coming from next to me. The guys pretend to look like they were interested in Miles but I knew they were all watching me. I wish I had the balls to tell this guy to piss off but I knew I didn't so I just avoided eye contact. "Sorry for interrupting you guys. We'll head out now. Come on, boy." Miles sat up and looked at me with a puppy dog look. I wasn't falling for that today.

"Feel free to stay and hang out! We are doing a cookout and bonfire!", one of them invited.

I smiled but shook my head. "Thank you for the invite but we are just going to head out. It was nice seeing you again." I tried in my most polite voice and hooked Miles up to the leash. I had to tug a little to get him to go but eventually he got up and headed with me.

"Hope to see you again sometime soon!" One shouted and I turned and waved before heading on my way. As I was walking back though I heard a lot of laughing and a chorus of "Oooo's" that sounded like they were mocking a group of preteen girls gushing about their latest crushes. I ignored it and headed back to my car.

The next week went by easier than I thought they would. I had managed to get some food for the apartment and was adding little knickknacks around to make it more home-y. I started work at the little dive bar and learned quickly that almost everyone in there was a regular. It was a very laid back environment too which I liked. Corporate places would never let me have my phone out during a shift. I had ended up staying three nights until Joe, my boss and the owner, would lock up so I could learn how to close the bar down. I was a little surprised he was leaving me with such a big responsibility this soon but he claimed he didn't get much help around here.

We were talking about something stupid a customer said earlier while he locked the front door behind us one night. He pocketed the key and we headed towards our respective cars. It might have seemed eerie to others to be surrounded by forests and only have one flood light hanging over to door of the bar flicker every now and then but I think it just added to the character.

"You get home safe now, you hear?" Joe said and I smiled and waved before walking around to the drivers' side. I suddenly had the feeling I was being watched and turned to look out into the forest. Not seeing anything I shrugged it off and climbed into the car. I turned the car on and looked down at my phone to check the time. When I looked back up, getting ready to shift out of park, I locked eyes with something in the forest directly in front of me. It was too shaded to see a silhouette or any detail but there was definitely a pair of eyes I was staring at. My breath caught and I tried to stay calm.

 _Don't panic. Don't panic._ I repeated in my head. I shut my eyes really hard and counted to five. When I opened them again nothing was there. My first thought was that I had imagined it, but we held eye contact for a solid couple of seconds. I gulped and hoped it was just an animal and it got spooked off or something.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep much that night. It didn't help there were a couple of howls in the distance to add to my paranoia.

Miles didn't seem distressed though and that was my only saving grace for the night.

* * *

Roots by Imagine Dragons is the song for this one.

Until next time…


	3. Chapter 3

I couldn't tell if I was simply dreaming of those eerie eyes I saw in the forest or if they were nightmares. Either way, they occupied my dreams for the next few nights. I couldn't imagine a body to pair with the eyes though and I didn't know if that was for the better or worse.

I was driving home from Port Angeles after turning in several applications to a few restaurants and bars. While driving home I noticed the check engine light on my car come on and I couldn't help but think about how it was just fitting for my life. I felt like my own personal check engine light was on most of the time. I also vaguely wondered how long I could drive and ignore it before it did serious damage to my car…

I was working from 3 to close tonight at Forks' local watering hole. I was closing by myself tonight too for the first time so I was a little nervous. When I got home I changed into a plain black v-neck shirt that wasn't too tight and a pair of skinny jeans. I decided to curl my hair enough to give it a nice beachy wave and put makeup on. I figured since I was going to be there by myself I might as well feel my best. Maybe it would scare away some of the jitters. Gotta make a good impression for all those middle aged locals, after all…

I also got time to try and perk myself up. For someone who doesn't really like talking to lots of people and dealing with the public, I probably picked the wrong career field to jump into but here I was. Most of the time I was really good at faking it and pretending I loved making small talk but every now and then I would have days where it was hard to get the scowl off my face. I usually didn't make much in tips on those days.

Joe, my boss, left not too long after I got there and I was on my own. It was a pretty standard Thursday evening. Busy but not overwhelming. A few people ended up asking my name and where I was from and trying to get to know me. As usual, I kept it pretty vague on the details. Nothing darkens a room faster than some tragic back-story. Besides, I didn't want anyone feeling sorry for me. I was starting a new chapter, as cheesy as that was, and I was determined to put everything behind me.

It was about 9oclock when I heard the door open and a few stools being pulled back but I had my back to them, filling up a small dishwasher with dirty glasses. I had my fake smile on ready to greet them but I quickly stuttered realizing it was the big linebacker looking guy. With the fucking eyes. And a younger looking guy.

"Oh." I muttered. I kept myself busy by grabbing beverage napkins for them. "Long time no." Was that really all my brain could come up with?

"Hey! You should have stayed at the beach the other day! It was a great time!" The younger one started and I was still trying to collect myself. I turned to look at those stupid eyes.

"Bud Light."

"Draft or bottle?" I probably sounded like a robot but the fucking eyes once again sucked me in.

"I.D." I muttered and he raised an eyebrow, which was the most expression I think I've ever seen on him.

"Do I not look of age?" He asked with the slightest bit of humor in his voice.

"No I.D., no beer." I cleared my head a little. I was doing this for long enough to know that my job was more important than someone throwing a fit about me asking for an ID. He definitely looked of age, and if I had to guess he probably looked of age when he was sixteen with how big he is, but I still had to ask.

He fished around for his wallet and pulled out a driver's license, handing it to me.

Jacob Black.

I finally had a name to put to the face. Jacob. Seemed fitting. I glanced at his picture and handed it back to him, snickering in my head at the picture. Has anyone ever taken a decent picture for those things?

I turned to the person next to him and he just shrugged. "Water." I was glad he didn't act like I just ignored him completely, even though I accidently did.

I grabbed their drinks and before my brain could even come up with anything worthwhile to say to him, the other one started talking about how they do bonfires on the beach all the time and I was welcome anytime.

"Should you be inviting strangers to your parties?" I slipped back into bartender mode and made small talk.

"Pftt, anyone can come! Maybe someday you won't even be a stranger anymore!" He laughed like it was some inside joke. I gave him a small smile and went back to now unloading the dishwasher.

"Alright Baylee, one more!" a middle aged looking man a few seats down from them said, getting my attention.

"You said that the last one!" I smirked and poured him another beer.

"Well I got nowhere to be and Joe finally got a bartender that's not heinous looking!" He smirked at me and I wondered if he thought I was supposed to take that as a compliment. Mentally, I was rolling my eyes so far back into my head that they were stuck there.

"So did you just move here?" The kid drinking water asked me.

"I moved to the area a few weeks ago." I nodded. "Do you guys live out on the reservation?" I asked. If there was an award for making small talk I might not win it, but I would certainly be a nominee.

"Yeah. Our whole lives." He seemed proud. _Must be nice to have somewhere to definitively call home_ , I thought. "What made you move here?" He asked.

I fucking hated that question.

"This and that. Change of scenery." I shrugged. "More space for my dog to run."

He perked up. "The husky?" I nodded. "Does that mean you're a dog person?" He asked.

"100 percent. Dogs are god's gift to the Earth." I told him. Dogs were a thousand times better than humans. They should be able to live forever. He nudged Jacob, and I assumed that meant he was really into dogs.

I cashed someone out and was trying to busy myself. It wasn't working too well. Realistically I was just trying not to stare at Jacob.

"So you're a bartender." The younger one stated and I nodded.

"Very observant of you." I said with probably a little too much sarcasm. Jacob snorted and downed the rest of the beer. "Another?" I asked and he nodded. He was obviously very chatty. I handed him a new beer, wondering if I could get him talking. Then I wondered why I would even want him talking when he was kind of an ass the last time I saw him.

"So do you get hit on by a lot of creepy guys?" The younger one was obviously chatty enough for the both of them.

"Is that what you're doing right now?" I asked, in a teasing tone.

"Wh-NO! What? No. No." He shook his head and I couldn't help but laugh at his bumbling around. Normally I would never respond with something like that but he gave off the vibe that I could joke around with him.

"Well now I'm insulted. Are you saying you don't think I'm good enough to flirt with?" Maybe I was being a little too flirty and I would stop if thought he was actually going to start flirting back but I didn't think he would.

"No! It's not that! You totally are! I just- its… You're just not my type." He stuttered and turned to look at Jacob like he was getting his approval or something. If there was one thing I hated more than anything, it was a guy who needed to be validated or feel like he was in power. I would know from experience that it's unhealthy.

"Well let's hear what your type is." I leaned against the counter.

"Uh. I don't know yet. But I know I'll know what it is when I see her." He smiled. He seemed really genuine and I enjoyed that. "How about you Jacob? What's your type?" He nudged him again and I turned to him waiting to hear his ideal girl.

"Blonde." Was all he said and took a drink.

"I never understood that. How does a whole hair color justify you liking someone? What about their personality? You're telling me if you met an amazingly sweet girl or something and she had brown hair, you wouldn't be into her?" I asked.

"The _amazingly_ sweet girl with brown hair didn't work out." He sounded bitter.

"Ah. See that makes more sense! Having a bad experience justifies it a little more." I wondered what he would be like in a relationship. I also wondered what kind of girl he was into that supposedly screwed him over. Or maybe he screwed her over and she got sick of it and left. _More power to her_ , I thought.

"Jacob here is finally over it, though." The younger one leaned in and put his arm around him before quickly being shoved off. "Say, what's your type?" He asked me with a large grin.

What was my type? Big and muscles? Those were great but I don't think I could ever narrow my type down to physical traits.

"Anyone who doesn't treat me like shit and is a decent human being. That's my type." I summarized.

"Who's the bitter one now?" Jacob muttered and I turned to glare at him.

"Didn't know those were bad traits to look for." I shrugged it off and turned to move down the bar rail.

"If I had a type, sweetheart, it would be you." The same guy from before laughed. I smiled at him and he cashed out along with another guest. Soon it was just one guy at the way other end of the bar and Jacob with his friend. Jacob was on his fourth beer when the guy at the end of the bar left, leaving just us three. I noticed the two of them mumbling back and fourth to each other while I checked my phone over by the register.

"Alright. I'm heading out! I'll see you tomorrow probably." The guy stood up and patted Jacob on the back before waving down at me. "It was nice chatting with you! I'm Seth, by the way!" He smiled.

"I'm Baylee. Nice meeting you." I gave a small wave.

And then there was Jacob and I. Now what?

I decided to turn off the jukebox since I assumed I wasn't going to get much of anything for the rest of the night. I plugged my phone into an aux cord I had discovered a few days ago and pulled open a playlist of alternative and pop punk songs. I also figured that since probably nobody else was coming in tonight, I deserved a beer for all the small talk I made today. I poured myself a Blue Moon and squeezed an orange in. I glanced over to see Jacob watching me.

"You drink on the job?" He asked and I rolled my eyes for real this time. Why did I feel like all the polite customer bullshit that I faked all day went out the window when it was just he and I?

"Making sure the product is up to company standards." I told him and I was surprised when he actually chuckled.

"Clever." He finally muttered.

"So what do you do for a living?" I asked because it would be too awkward if I just walked away now without saying anything.

"Mechanic."

"In town? My check engine light just came on actually." I told him taking a sip.

"Self employed. What's wrong with your car?" He asked.

"Couldn't tell you. Think if I drive it for a few days with the light on, I'm okay?" Please say yes, please say yes. I don't really have the time, or the extra cash, to think about any of that.

"Should probably get it looked at." He took another sip while I cursed under my breath. "I could look at it for you, if you want." He frowned after saying it like he regretted bringing it up.

I weighed my options. It was either google someone in this small ass town to do it or take the option that's right in front of me. To be fair, I didn't have to have a great relationship with him for him to just look at my car…

"Would you be willing to?" I asked, giving him a chance to back out.

"Sure." He said with a nonchalant attitude. He pulled out his phone and I glanced at him as he pulled open a new contact. It felt weird exchanging phone numbers with him. Like this was somehow more than him just agreeing to look at my car.

He paid after his beer and I was alone once again. He left me a nice tip, which always made me like you a little more. I still didn't know what I fully thought of him though. He seemed very hot and cold and I knew I didn't need that in my life. But nobody said I had to have any sort of relationship with him other than seeing him around. I felt like I was going to be seeing a lot more of him though and that freaked me out.

That night, after successfully closing the bar, I had the feeling of being watched. I wondered if I was going to get this feeling every time I was alone at night now. I didn't see anything in the woods though when I was looking around, which I was grateful for. As I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, I realized I never actually looked at the birth date on Jacob's I.D., I only looked at the name and picture. I snorted before rolling over and closing my eyes.

My dreams finally put a face to the eyes though and that scared me more than the forest. Jacob Black.

* * *

What If We Could by Blue October for this one


	4. Chapter 4

Day two of the check engine light being on. I thought I was going to be able to ride it out, until it started making this weird clicking sound one day when I was driving home with Miles from a hiking trail.

 _Text Jacob and ask_ , some back part of my brain told me. Or, maybe I should just push my luck. I made it home and weighed my options for a bit while Miles seemed confused as to why we weren't getting out of the car immediately. I pulled my phone out and debated on what to write.

Hey, my car is making a weird noise now.

Hey, fix my car.

Hey, how much are you going to charge me to fix my car?

Hey, what's up?

None of those seemed to work for me. I mean, he didn't even seem like he was actually interested in looking at it. Maybe if I just ask him what he thought it would be I could google it and try and fix it myself… That was a stupid idea, I could already tell you that right now. I'm not even sure I know how to pop the hood of the car, let alone do anything to the inside.

'Hey, it's Baylee. My car just started making some weird clicking sound that sounds like it's coming from under the hood. Have an idea what that would be? It still rides like it normally does.' I settled for a more formal text and maybe he would instantly know what it was and I wouldn't have to waste any of his time. Or mine for that matter, trying to look up someone in town to check it out. Realistically I could have risked the drive and headed back up to the Everett area to some more local places I know but I'd be risking a lot more than just the car. I got out of there for a reason, no point in going back and losing all the progress I've made for myself.

I didn't even consider Everett my home and that's where I spent my entire life up until recently. That chipper suburban vibe turned darker for me a few years back and I finally realized what a toxic place that was.

I could feel my mood sinking, just thinking of that place and tried to push it all out of my head. I had new problems now. My problems were now the same problems that everyone else ran into. Normal problems. Car trouble was a pretty normal problem. Not getting an order of protection from the one you supposedly loved the most. Those were not normal problems. I was pulled from my mental musing with a beep from my phone signaling a text.

'Could be several things.' Was all it read. Well…that was really fucking helpful. I let out a huff, annoyed, and got out of the car with Miles. We headed inside while I tried to think of something that would bring my now cloudy mood up. I had already decided I wasn't going to text back when I got another notification from my phone.

'Working in the garage rn. If u aren't busy u can bring it over now.'

I wasn't busy but did I really want to see him right now? I looked over at Miles like he was going to give me an answer but he just plopped down on his bed and laid down. He was probably exhausted after running and climbing all day. Maybe I could flip a coin to see if I should go or not.

'Okay' was all I sent back after a lot of mental debate and waited for him to send me the address.

Once I made it onto reservation land, I noticed the directions were taking me in a more residential area and I felt kind of out of place. I eventually pulled up to a house with a very large garage in the back and a police car sitting out front. Not a good sign…

I turned the car off and climbed out, wondering what I should do now? If he was working on a car like he said he was then I didn't think knocking on the door would be good. Maybe now was a bad time. I felt like I was getting anxiety by overthinking everything today.

I looked over to see Jacob walking over to me from I'm assuming the garage. He was wearing shorts and a gray v-neck shirt. Even covered in grease and grime he looked like a million dollars. I vaguely wondered how often he got laid. He had to of had girls following him around like lost puppy dogs. He nodded at me and looked at the car.

"So it's just making a clicking noise?"

Well hello to you too, asshat.

"Yeah." I muttered and glanced over at the police car again. I thought about asking about it but didn't want to seem rude. Although, he seemed to have no problem being rude. I looked back at him to see him staring at me. It was silent for a moment before he looked back at the car.

"Where are your keys? I'll drive it to the back."

"In the car. You sure you have time to be doing this?" I double-checked. I didn't want him to feel obligated to drop what he was doing and look at my car. He opened the door and turned the car on and stood next to the hood for a moment, I'm assuming listening for something.

"Don't worry about it." He muttered before sitting down in the driver's side with one foot hanging out and the door half open. I wondered if I should apologize for the dog hair everywhere.

He slowly drove the car to the back while I followed on foot. I noticed a lot of miscellaneous parts and rusty looking items scattered around. He had turned the car off and was popping the hood when I walked into the make shift garage. He had a lot of tools and what looked to be a small car under a large tarp.

"When did the noise start?" He asked while poking around under the hood.

"Today." I mumbled while continuing to look around.

"How long has the check engine light been on?"

"Uh…a few days? A week maybe? I don't know." I shrugged. The car was still driving and that's all I knew. He made some snorting noise that sounded like he was equal parts amused, as he was annoyed. He ducked back under the hood and I took the time to look around the place.

"Do you just work out of here on your own?" I asked because there didn't seem to be a lot of room around here.

A solid "No" was all I got from him.

"You're so talkative, it's almost like I can't get a word in." I mumbled not really expecting him to fully hear me. So it's no surprise when I jumped when he let out a large laugh.

"No. I do work on my own and then at this small shop in town some days." He clarified and I nodded, somewhat embarrassed that he heard my snide remark. I probably shouldn't be an ass to the guy willing to help with my car, right? To be fair, I wasn't used to being the one to make conversation. I was more of a sit and listen kind of person.

"Cool, cool." Like I said, not very good at conversation. I probably shouldn't be nagging him for conversation when I wasn't a total chatterbox myself, now that I think about it. It stayed silent for a bit and I found myself looking around for somewhere to sit. I ended up sitting on some upside down milk carton box looking thing, hoping I wasn't offending him or anything.

"When's the last time you had your oil changed?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"Uh…?" I tried to think back. Had I ever had my oil changed? I mean I had to of at some point. That was always something I had Nick look at. Jacob once again let out that snort noise and rolled his eyes.

"Do you have an hour to spare?" He asked.

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked, assuming the car was ruined and I was going to have to cough up all my money to fix it.

"I'll change your oil but it takes about forty minutes." He said.

"Oh. Uh, yeah I guess. Was the oil what was wrong?" I guess I could spare an hour to watch him tinker on my car. I hope Miles wasn't too bored without me.

"No. You have a gauge messed up. I'll need to order a new one and probably a new hose. It looks like shit." He moved around grabbing this and that.

"Order a part?" I repeated. "Like, the car is fucked up or?" I was confused. Cars were definitely not my thing.

"Not fucked up. You can probably still drive it for a few days without any worry as long as you aren't driving far. Should only take a few days for the part anyway." He stuck something on my car and started jacking it up.

"Wait, what are you doing now?" I asked. He turned and stared at me with a blank expression for a second.

"Changing your oil." He deadpanned. Oh yeah…an hour making small talk with a taciturn linebacker.

"How much is all of this going to cost me?" I asked.

"Whatever the part is going to cost." He had his back to me and was pushing some giant pan thing under my car.

"And then what are you charging?" I asked. I didn't even know a ballpark range. I started to feel a headache come on.

"Don't worry about it." He said it so casually that I frowned. Was he saying he was doing this for free? That's not right.

"No, that's stupid. How are you supposed to make money?"

He finally turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you'd rather me over charge you for something I could do in my sleep?" He made it sound like I was being stupid but he's being the stupid one. Now I sounded like a child.

"How are you supposed to make any money? If it's something you could do in your sleep then that should be easy money for you." I argued.

"I'm not losing anything on this. I'd be out here anyway, even if you weren't here, and I don't have to use any of my own parts." He crossed his arms. His arms were fucking massive. _I bet he gives the best hugs._ Ew, where did that thought come from?

"Oil. You're losing oil." I thought. He started laughing.

"Fine. Give me enough money for lunch and I'll be okay." He rolled his eyes before turning and going back to whatever it was he was doing. He got down and was now on the ground under my car. All I could see from where I was sitting was legs. What was I supposed to do for the next hour? I pulled my phone out and thought about going through the minimal social media I had, but changed my mind already bored of that thought. My only option left was to keep talking to Jacob.

"How old are you?" I asked the first thing that came to mind. I remember I never actually checked his birth date.

"23. Shouldn't you know that?" He asked sitting up from under the car, his hands covered in black grime.

"I never actually looked at your birth date. Was too distracted by your painfully awkward photo."

He let out another laugh and I decided I liked him laughing more than that stupid scowl he always seemed to have on.

"Ow. You're bruising my ego." He put a hand to his chest, which just left a giant mark on his shirt. "Good thing I hit a growth spurt and became a hunk." He teased and it was my turn to snort.

"I don't think your ego is very bruised. In fact, I think it could use a couple hits to knock it down. I'm sure you have chicks fawning all over you." I rolled my eyes.

"So you're saying that since I have girls all over me then I must attractive." He grabbed some towel off a workbench to wipe his hands. The towel looked pretty grimy too so I don't know what was the point of that.

"Isn't everyone attractive in their own right?" I kind of felt like I had this conversation with him already. He was more conversational this time around.

"Ah, that's right. You don't have a type." He leaned against my car and crossed his arms again.

"My type is anyone taller than me who is a decent person." I re-explained to him.

"Taller. That's more than you said before." He pointed out.

"Why does it have to be physical? Shouldn't you be more attracted to someone's personality than their face?" I asked him, curious as to what he thought.

"You don't know someone's personality, glancing at them across the room." While he had a point, it was a stupid one in my opinion.

"Okay, I thought we were talking about an actual relationship here and not some sexual attraction that's going to resonate into a one night stand."

"So because I find someone physically attractive, I have to sleep with them?" He asked and I glared at him. I was going to make some nasty comment but there was this weird twinkle in his eyes that I had never seen in him. I'd never seem him this…cheery.

"I don't know what you do with your free time." I smirked.

"Not that." He chuckled. "How old are you?" He asked me the same question that seemed to start this whole conversation.

"23, same as you."

"Where'd you move from?" Ugh. "This isn't exactly the destination area to move to." He added.

"Around Everett, north of Seattle. Just needed a change of scenery." I explained in a way I thought it wouldn't make him ask more questions.

"Wouldn't know anything about that. I've been here my whole life." He told me.

"You're very talkative today." I blurted, instantly regretting it. His eyebrows rose and I noted that his face was very expressive.

"So are you." He countered before sighing and looking down at the ground for a bit. "I've been in a pissy mood lately but it seems to be getting better."

"Been there." I nodded. At least he could admit it. Although, that seemed like a long time to be in a pissy mood. Maybe he just got dumped or something. Or maybe it had something to do with the cop car out front. I wasn't going to pry.

The rest of the time continued on in small talk and sarcastic comments. I finally managed to find out the cop car was just a family friend. He was right about it taking about an hour for him to change the oil and suddenly my car was ready to go. Or as ready to go as it could be without the new parts it needed. He told me he would order them tonight and text me when it was ready and he had free time to put it in. I felt like shit leaving without paying him anything yet but I'd figure some way to get him to take the money. I left in a surprisingly good mood and even the feeling of being watched while I was letting Miles out at nighttime didn't bother me as much as it usually did.

It felt good to be in such a happy mood for so long. It had been a long time since this feeling stuck an entire day and not just a short amount of time. I couldn't help but wonder if the next time I saw Jacob if he'd be in the cheerier mood he was in today or back to his pissy self. Either way, I was kind of looking forward to it. It felt nice to have a friend of sorts.

My dreams weren't terrible that night.

* * *

Going To Jail by Anarbor was on repeat for this one!


	5. Chapter 5

That good didn't last. It didn't last at all. I shouldn't have been surprised, bad luck seems to be my bread and butter. It all started when my phone rang that morning with a call from a cousin I talked to off and on back from Everett. She told me she heard through the grapevine that Nick got off on time served and only had probation. It wasn't like he was on trial for murder and I wasn't even present during the entire process but I guess I thought in my head he was going to be getting at least a year or something; Enough for him to leave my mind completely and for me to carry on with my life. Yeah, right.

"I'm sorry, Bay. I didn't want to be the one to tell you but I thought you should know." My cousin had said. She didn't want to be the one to tell me, my ass. She was a gossip and I knew she was only following Nick's case was because she lived for juicy drama. If it were up to me, nobody would no longer associate the two of us together and that would be the end of that.

Nick had a prior record that I thought would be beneficial in this case in putting him away but I guess not. Apparently he didn't hit hard enough. Or I didn't hit hard enough back. I shook my head at the thought and was just counting my blessings that I didn't have to make any court appearances. And I had a protection order so I was fine. Everything was fine.

Miles barking tore me from my thoughts as he pawed at the door. "Okay, okay. I'm coming!" I told him pulling on a light rain jacket and putting his leash on. I was only going to let him out to go potty but maybe a walk would clear my head. I was walking down a quiet street ignoring the light drizzle and thinking about how Miles was probably going to need a bath later. Getting a dog his size to sit still for a bath was a nightmare but at least it would keep my brain occupied.

Keeping my thoughts from running was the purpose of my walk but it was having an opposite effect. I couldn't stop thinking about Everett and everyone there. Were people thinking of me now that he was a free man? Or as free as a man on probation could get? I hoped people weren't. I didn't want anyone's pity even if they were no longer in my life. I got out of that situation and I would like to think I was doing pretty okay on my own so far.

My phone buzzing in my pocket with a text sent my anxiety spiking. What if he already found my number and he was contacting me? I pulled it out of my pocket and noticed I was shaking a bit. Jacob's name in bold on the top had me letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

'Parts will be here Friday. U busy then?'

I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head. Minor car troubles and other mundane issues were my problems now, not any of that bullshit from the past. Thinking about Jacob helped ease the nerves a bit. He didn't know anything about me other than minor details. He didn't see me as that battered girl sitting in front of a camera for a mugshot. I was the victim with questionable morals back in Everett but here I was just a normal girl, working, hanging with my dog, and being totally normal. Normal, normal, normal.

 _Ack! Why was I even thinking of all this garbage!_

'I work Friday night at 4' I sent back and decided to turn Miles around and head back home. It wasn't long before my phone was vibrating again.

'I can do it in the morning. Shouldn't take too long'

'Ok. Let me know what time.' I sent back.

I decided to give Miles that bath when I got home and he was mad at me afterwards. He was rolling around in my bed sending me dirty looks. I looked around for something to eat but couldn't find anything appetizing. I pulled out my phone to look at take out in the area. There was very little to pick from so I decided to just order take out from that little diner in town. Miles continued to shoot me dirty looks even as I left. I had a feeling I would come home to something destroyed. I pulled into the little diner parking lot and pulled my hood up as I ran inside. The rain had picked up a bit. I told the younger looking hostess that I was going to order takeout and she directed me over to this little counter that I sat down at. I was looking over to menu deciding between breakfast for dinner or a sandwich when I was startled nearly out of my skin.

"Baylee!" Someone shouted and I instantly put a hand to my heart. "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you." He started laughing and I knew that laugh instantly. I looked over to see Jacob sitting down next to me.

"What? Are you stalking me now?" I asked trying to slow my heart down.

"I was here first, actually, so it would be you stalking me." He chuckled and I scratched my head trying to think that one out. "Are you grabbing dinner?" He asked and I had to bit back a sarcastic reply that that was what people typically did at restaurants. I settled for nodding and looking back down at the menu. "All by yourself?" He continued.

"Well they don't typically allow dogs in restaurants unless they are service animals and Miles doesn't meet those requirements. So yeah, alone." I didn't look at him but I heard that laugh again.

"You can come eat with us. There is always room for more." He nodded and I turned to see what he was talking about. The younger one that was at the bar with him the other day, Seth or something, was sitting at a table with three older looking adults, a tiny teenager, and a girl who looked around our age.

"That's alright." I turned back to him. "I was just going to get some take out." I waved him off.

"Eating dinner alone is just sad." He huffed out and I couldn't help to snort.

"Well that made me feel so much better." I replied only to realize he was getting up and walking away. Oh.

Okay, fuck you too.

I looked back down at the menu only to be startled again when a plate clinked right next to me and he was sitting back down with a plate of food. So he wasn't ditching me mid sentence. Then my brain caught up with his actions.

"Oh, no. You don't have to eat dinner with me." I waved my hand. "Go back to your family or friends or whatever." I tried to get rid of him.

"I'm insulted. Am I not good company?" He asked. Joke was on him, I'm not the good company right now.

"That's not what I said." I clarified wondering if he was actually insulted or was just teasing me.

"Well I'm not going to let some pretty girl eat by herself. That's just sad." He took a bite out of his burger and grabbed a napkin. I ignored the comment altogether. A waitress came around and as I told her the food was to-go, Jacob interrupted and told her to make it for here. I rolled my eyes and nodded at her before she disappeared.

"Hey Baylee. Long time, no see!" Someone new said and I once again jumped at the interruption. I turned to see Seth standing behind the both of us making us both turn towards him, facing each other. Our knees bumped but we both ignored it. I felt like Jacob probably had this problem a lot, being how big he was. I bet plane rides sucked for him.

"You're jumpy today." Jacob commented as I greeted Seth. I chose to ignore that comment too.

"Haven't seen you down on the rez lately." Seth mentioned and I nodded.

"Yeah, I haven't taken my dog that way in a bit. Mostly just walks around town here." I made small talk. I glanced over at Jacob who was glaring at Seth like he just murdered his pet hamster or something. Suddenly some gorgeous looking little kid popped up behind Seth. I shouldn't say kid. She was probably sixteen or seventeen but looked like she was more ready for the runway than high school.

When did my takeout dinner turn into this little get together? Was the whole restaurant going to come say hi to me?

"Hello. I'm Ness." She shoved her hand in between both boys to shake my hand.

"Uh, hi. I'm Baylee." I shook her hand noticing how cold she felt. She was giving me this big smile that was slightly weird-ing me out. Almost like she was in on some inside secret and I wasn't allowed to know it.

"You're new in town, right? How are you liking it?" She politely asked.

"It's fine. Good." I shrugged. It wasn't Everett and that's all that mattered to me.

"Good. Hope the welcoming committee here is keeping you company." She snickered and patted Jacob on the shoulder. He turned his glare on her obviously not finding her commentary funny.

"If you're all they have for a welcoming committee then I'm going to start packing my bags again." I leaned against the counter and put my face in my hand. Seth started laughing while Ness giggled.

"It's like you get off on wounding my ego." Jacob turned his glare on me but it wasn't as lethal looking. That odd twinkle was back in his expression too.

"Trust me, when I get off I'm not thinking about you."

Seth busted out laughing, "How's that one feel, Jake? Talk about a wounded ego!"

Jacob's demeanor did a 180. He was giving Seth that murderous look once again. I frowned at him. What was with this guy and the mood swings? Here I thought we were cracking jokes and then bam: mood swing. I suppose I should be grateful they aren't directed towards me, at least not recently, but they didn't seem necessary.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" He spat at Seth.

"Okay, okay. I can take a hint." Seth surrendered. "I'll see you around Baylee." I nodded at him and the girl sent me a million dollar smile.

"It was nice meeting you! Hopefully I'll see you around!" There was that look again where I wasn't in on the joke. I just smiled at her as she sashayed away.

I didn't really like the fact that Jacob was sending them away so rudely. Granted, I would have liked to have been left alone altogether but he didn't have to treat them like garbage. I thought about voicing this to him but my food came and he was already wasting no time in devouring his food that I'm sure was cold by now.

"So how was your day?" He finally asked between bites.

"Okay." I shrugged. Why go into the gory details, right?

"Just okay? Sounds boring." He continued to talk.

"How was your day?" I figured it would have been rude not to ask back.

"Not bad. I got an email today that your parts shipped."

Cool! Car parts!

"Good." I took a bite of a french fry wishing like hell that I had just gotten the take out like I planned. At least Miles couldn't talk back to me and I was in the mood for silence now that I no longer had it. I probably shouldn't be making fun of his mood swings when I felt like I was no different.

"Don't sound so enthused." He chuckled. "I know it's not the most glamorous stuff but at least your check engine light will come off." He argued.

"That would be nice." And I would no longer have to worry about how much I owe him. Still needed to figure that one out. We both continued to eat…more like I ate and he looked at his phone because he finished eating not too long after he sat down. It actually ended up being a comfortable silence instead of the awkwardness I thought would linger. He must have gotten a read that I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Do you want any of this?" I asked him, not being able to finish half of my fries.

"Sure." He took the plate from me and grabbed several at once. I swear I blinked once and all the fries were gone.

"What are you? Hitting a growth spurt or something? Slow down." I snickered. He was like a human garbage disposal.

"I hope I'm not growing. I might have to get new clothes then."

"You'd go from a linebacker to a… well I don't know actually. Is there a position bigger than linebacker?" I asked, not too sure on my sports knowledge.

"Nah, linemen are usually the biggest players on the team."

"Then I'm at a loss." I picked up the bill that the waitress dropped off before pulling cash out. "Thanks for hanging out with the sad lonely girl eating dinner by herself." I mocked. "Let me know about the car." I patted his arm before getting up and heading for the door.

"Bye Baylee." Seth spoke loudly from their table. I gave a small wave and rushed out the door. I couldn't wait to just hold Miles and crawl into bed.

It was a few hours later when I started dozing that Miles got a little stir crazy and I figured I would let him out one more time before I actually went to bed. I hooked up his leash and headed outside. He was sniffing around for a while before lifting his leg right on the tree line. I shivered getting that feeling again that someone was watching me.

Miles started rumbling slightly. Not a full growl but something obviously caught his attention and of course it had to be in the forest. He started pulling on the leash trying to dash into the trees.

"Hey!" I whisper shouted at him, not wanting to be too loud. His rumbling turned into a full growl and he started barking too. Now I was freaked out. "Miles!" I said a little louder pulling him back but he really wanted to get whatever it was that he saw. "Knock it off, you're freaking me out." I muttered the last park and continued to pull him back. He was practically standing upright between me pulling back and him trying to go forward.

I regretted looking to try and see whatever it was that he saw because I saw a pair of eyes not too deep in the trees. My heart started pounding and I wanted to start crying but no tears came. This wasn't just some weird shadow thing I saw in the forest from the safety of my car. This was some fucking creature thirty feet tops away from me, staring me down. I took a step back and then another one, suddenly getting the strength to pull Miles with me. I wanted to run, so desperately but my body wasn't moving. It was like time stopped.

Everything came racing back to me at once when it made a move and I could hear the rustling of leaves and branches. I gasped and took a step back but lost my footing and fell on my butt, thankfully still holding the leash in one hand. The other reached out to try and catch my fall but that didn't work so well. Whatever it was, was obviously moving to move away from me and deeper into the forest. My brain caught up with me and I took the opportunity to use all my power to pull Miles with me and run back to the safety of the dingy apartment door.

I slammed the door behind us and started hyperventilating. What the fuck did I just see? I raced for my phone to call the police and report it but as soon as the phone was in my hand I put it back down. I didn't even know what I saw and what the hell were to police going to do about it? Chase it? Unlikely. Plus, I didn't have a good history with the police even if I was in a different town. I paced around in some weird panicked daze.

It was about an hour later before I finally laid down and my heart wasn't hurting from pounding so much. I knew I wasn't going to sleep tonight. I sat up and rummaged through all my things looking for any sort of cold medicine or nighttime pills of any sort but found none. Going to some 24 hour drug store was out of the question since I refused to leave the apartment right now.

I lay back down and Miles came a snuggled up against me, obviously already over whatever the fuck happened a few hours ago. I ran my hand over his fur, taking comfort in it. I leaned over to hug him and pulled my hand back when a stinging feeling ran up my arm. I looked at my hand and tried rolling my wrist around but it hurt like hell. How had I not noticed this before? _Adrenaline probably_.

What was I going to do about that? I didn't want to pay for a doctors visit. Worrying about my wrist at least kept my mind off of that **thing**. My phone beeping caused me to let out a small scream and a cry when I realized it was only my phone. With my heart pounding again I picked it up to see Jacob's name.

'Hey, u up?'

I tried to slow my breathing and locked my phone before throwing it across the bed. The things I would do right now for some sleeping meds… Being mindful of my wrist I leaned back over and hugged Miles again. My mind was all over the place. I didn't know what was worse: starting my day off thinking about Nick and Everett or ending it being terrified of a completely different monster. I lay in bed listening to Miles make weird sounds as he dreamed and waiting for the sun so come up. It was an hour to sunrise that I realized I never texted Jacob back.

* * *

Cherry Hill by Russ for this one. Added bonus the album it's off is called There's Really A Wolf.


	6. Chapter 6

It was about 7AM when I finally sat up and realized there was enough light coming from the window to make things seem a little less scary. I had decided at some point when my mind was running a million miles per hour that I would have much rather dealt with Nick and his bullshit then this unknown creature out of a sci-fi show. Maybe Bigfoot did exist right around the corner from me? Maybe I could have made millions if only I had a video camera on me at the time? The thought of not knowing was terrifying me. I almost wished I had seen the _thing_ in all its glory so at least I would know what I was dealing with. The slight throbbing in my wrist was my only reminder right now.

I thought about running to the drug store to get any form of nighttime pills but the more I thought about it, the less appealing it seemed. I didn't want to leave Miles who was acting as my comfort blanket right now. I could feel my eyes burning with a lack of sleep. Despite all of this, I still laid still in bed staring at the ceiling. Time must have passed and I screamed when my phone started ringing from an unknown number.

"Hello?" I ended up answering. I could feel my voice shaking.

"Hello, is this Miss. Collins?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"This is she." I really did have to get my voice under control. I'm sure I sounded like I'd been crying or something.

"Hello. My name is Sarah and I'm calling from Bartown Brewing. We received your application and would like for you to come in for an interview. What's your schedule like?"

So I finally found somewhere in Port Angeles to interview. That helped me clear my voice up for the rest of the phone call. I would be heading up there tomorrow to interview and if all things went well then a second interview with their General Manager. I felt like I knew enough about beer to be able to bullshit my way through that. Years of serving and bartending helped me gain a lot of useless knowledge about drinks and food and pairing them together.

I was going to set the phone down when I realized I never texted Jacob back. I opened the conversation and wondered why he was texting me so late asking if I was awake.

'No' was all I sent back to him. I knew I wasn't giving him anything to work on if he wanted to have a conversation but who said I necessarily wanted a conversation with the guy?

' _You up?'_ was fuck boy translation for an opening. Similar to _'Let's play 20 questions'_ or some other bullshit like that. Granted, Jacob didn't exactly come across as a fuckboy but who could really know.

My phone chimed again and I looked down at his response. 'Right. I take it you didn't sleep'

I read the sentence twice with a confused expression. What was that supposed to mean? And how did he know I didn't sleep?

'How do you know I didn't sleep?' I texted back, getting a weird vibe. I didn't know if it's just because I was so jumpy or what but something didn't feel right. Maybe I was just being paranoid. I tried rolling my wrist around for a second to see if it would loosen up.

'Seemed like a cranky answer' He responded seconds later. I half glared at my phone, weird feeling disappearing instantly. Well no shit I was cranky, I didn't sleep! Who was he to call me out on that? Jerk. I let out an angry huff and put the phone down on the cheap beat-up bedside table. I tried to run a hand through the tangles in my hair but was unsuccessful. Maybe a shower would clear my head. Or maybe that thing in the forest would seize the opportunity of me being distracted and break in and kill me. Dying in the shower must have been awkward for whoever found your body. Would the water still be running? Would the person have time to grab the curtain or something to cover themselves up?

"What the fuck am I thinking about?" I muttered to myself before getting up. Miles barely moved while I distracted myself with a shower. Maybe I would blow dry my hair and straighten it too, though I don't know how successful I'll be with a bum wrist. That would take some time and would serve as another distraction. When I got out of the shower, I stood in my closet looking for something to wear. Some yoga pants and a sweater would be perfect for not leaving the house. I jumped when my phone dinged with my text tone. I walked over seeing Jacob's name at the top of the screen.

'See? No response says you're cranky' It read. I huffed again and decided to respond.

'Double texting makes you seem desperate' It was a pretty rude thing to say but I didn't care. Maybe it would annoy him and he'd stop texting me. Why was he texting me anyway?

Because we were friends? Were we even friends? I mean, the most of the time I've seen the guy he was acting like a dick with a stick up his ass. But then the night at the diner he was pretty funny and sweet. Still a tad annoying but friendly nonetheless. A dinging noise pulled me from my thoughts and I looked down at the phone, frown deepening.

'What if I am?'

What if he was what? What if he was desperate? Desperate for what? Oh god, is he flirting right now?! Was this normal flirting behavior? I hadn't flirted with anyone in so long, I had no idea anymore. Oh, sweet Jesus, I was not prepared for something like this. How was I supposed to respond to that? Flirt back? But then that would be sending the hint that I liked him like that and I didn't. I mean, he was hot as fuck and I bet good in bed, but that didn't mean I liked him. I don't even really know the guy!

Fuck.

I'm not good at this kind of stuff. I couldn't even remember flirting with Nick. That was just like a time bomb that went off and then suddenly we were in this relationship. I suddenly felt like a middle school-er gushing over the phone with her gal pals over what some testosterone run boy had said to her. I needed to get a grip. I decided to get dressed, brush my hair, and then I would come back to this debacle in a few minutes.

Obviously I took my time doing everything because I still had yet to think of a response. I could either call him out on it and shut it down real quick, or I could ignore it. I could also just steer the conversation in a different direction but that still entailed speaking. Maybe I should just be a bitch and he'll change his mind. This is all assuming that he is actually flirting and not just being an ass. That was also a feasible situation.

Okay, I was going to go for the sarcastic answer.

'Real cute…' I sent back after some time and let out a big sigh. I glanced at the time and then looked over at the covered up window. I had been so distracted by Jacob's stupid ass that I completely forgot about the beast outside my window.

'I know I am. Working tonight?' Maybe he wasn't flirting. Maybe he was just looking for free drinks or something along those lines. That seemed more probable to me.

'Yes. 4' I responded but after it had sent I realized I probably didn't need to tell him when I started. Maybe my parts came in early and that's the only reason he was asking. Maybe I shouldn't be thinking this hard about it.

 _Maybe I should stop thinking about maybes…_ I thought to myself.

I busied myself with doing my hair like I promised myself and when it was time to take Miles out to go to the bathroom I managed to stop my panic attack from creeping up. The daylight really helped calm me down. I also decided when we made it back inside to take a small nap and was pleasantly surprised when I managed to sleep for an hour. I then distracted myself with doing my makeup for work. I decided on a smoky eye and hope it just blended in with the giant bags under my eyes. I pulled some jeans on and a black shirt, which is what I was supposed to be wearing to work. I decided to throw a maroon zip up sweater on over that and call it a day. I still had an hour to sit around and do nothing. I pulled my phone out and scrolled through the local news to see if anything about a mysterious creature popped up but nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening. I thought about looking up Everett's news but knew that was a bad idea before I could even finish the thought. I sighed and played with Miles until I had to leave. He always seemed to know when it was work time for me because as soon as I was grabbing my purse and keys he was tucking himself into his bed. I wished I could sleep as much as him.

The walk from my door to car turned into a dash and I slammed the door shut a little too hard. While I drove to work I thought about getting a gun but I knew I could never shoot one. I'd most likely shoot myself before I managed to hit any type of target. A stun gun seemed more logical. Could you even buy those at a regular store?

 _One of those would have come in handy with Nick…_ I thought darkly before pulling up to work. I probably looked stupid running into work but I wasn't about to risk being the only one in a parking lot.

"Hey sweetie." Joe nodded from the register to me as I rounded behind the bar.

"Hey. How was this morning?" I smiled to the few people sitting at the bar rail and set my purse down.

"Eh, average day. Thursday night football tonight and it's a good one. You going to be okay by yourself?" He asked, closing the register and crossing his arms.

"I think I'll manage. Might turn into a rough crowd tonight though." I smirked glancing over at a regular while Joe raised an eyebrow in question.

"I'm looking at you!" I pointed to the regular and both him and Joe laughed at my poor attempt at humor. "But I'll be good. Worked football days before."

After about forty minutes of me being there, Joe left, no doubt to watch the game somewhere else. Realistically I hated football games because then I had to have the sound on for the game instead of my music.

The bar rail did fill up for the game and a few guys stood around the bar talking and watching. Thankfully that meant I could busy myself with something at all times and didn't have time to think about anything else. Around halftime I was busy standing at one end of the bar talking about sports (or what little I knew about sports) to a group of older guys. They were being a little cheeky and I hated playing around with them but I had to pay my rent somehow…

"Oh come on, Baylee! You have to at least know how many quarters a game has!" One of them was making fun of me and I crossed my arms, mindful of my wrist, and laughed.

"Yes, I know at least that. I know it for every sport!" I defended myself.

"How many in hockey?" His friend asked and I opened my mouth to answer only to realize I didn't actually know the answer. They all started laughing and I looked down the bar rail to see if anyone needed a beer. That's when my eyes landed on the linebacker and his friend standing at the end of the bar leaning across the bar. I rolled my eyes but realized I was still smiling. I started to walk away.

"Hey! I know baseball has nine innings!" I pointed to the guys who were still laughing while I walked down the bar. I made it about halfway before some guy was calling me babe and asking for another beer.

"Of course!" I turned and decided to pour it right then and there so I wouldn't have to deal with him for a bit again. I turned and rolled my eyes to the back of my head as the beer poured.

"Busy night for you." Jacob said as I walked up to him and his friend. I vaguely recognized him from the beach that one time.

"Thursday night football." I shrugged putting my hands in my sweater pockets, but hitting my wrist weird and I instantly pulled it back out and let it hang by my side. "You've missed half the game." I told him, noticing the small frown on his face.

"Who said I'm here for the game?" He countered, his face growing into a small smile and I was floored again. I might have been stupid on the subject but that was definitely flirting.

"Ah. You must have run out of beer at your house then." I dodged it and the guy behind him chuckled and I remembered he was standing there this whole time. I'm sure I had a blush on my face, which was embarrassing. "What are you drinking?" I asked before he could say anything else.

"Bud Light." He answered.

"Shocking." I said before I could even think about it. Oops. "And you?" I asked the guy behind him.

"Oktoberfest." He put his arm on Jacob's shoulder and leaned on him.

"I.D." I said and he snorted. _I don't care if you look like a professional linebacker, dude, just give me the I.D._ I thought fighting the urge to roll my eyes. He handed it over and I went to go reach for it with my bad hand and quickly caught it and switched. I actually knew to check the birthday this time before glancing at the name and picture. Quil. What an interesting name. I handed it back and turned before I said anything else stupid but not before noticing Jacob frowning again. I came back and put their beer down before going to fill a couple more beers.

"Alright Baylee," My attention was once again grabbed by the guys at the end of the bar. "This is an easy one! Name one player on Seattle this year."

"The dude who wouldn't have sex with Ciara…uh…Russell something." They started cracking up and I snickered. "Wilson!" I remembered after a second. "See, I know shit!" I laughed at myself.

"Hasn't your boyfriend made you watch games with him before?" One of them asked and I snorted. Nick didn't give a shit about sports. Was too busy looking for his next high or fuck.

"Who said I had a boyfriend?" I countered.

"Ah come on! A pretty girl like you has to have guys all over you." One of them chimed in and I shook my head.

"My dog is the only guy for me right now." I smirked.

"You're one of those heartbreaker types, I bet." Another jumped in. I shook my head again getting slightly uncomfortable.

"Hardly."

"Mhm, sure." He gave me a side eye before taking a sip of his beer. I just shook my head and walked away.

I didn't know which end of the bar was worse. Listening to Jacob maybe flirt with me or these guys teasing me about my love life. Middle of the bar wasn't going to work, that was too close to the guy calling me babe every time he needed something. I guess I could talk to Jacob's friend. Or stay on neutral subjects like my car or something. When I made my way over to them, Quil was leaning on Jacob against saying something quietly to him. I slightly regretted walking up because I felt like I was intruding on some secret.

"So when is my car getting fixed?" I asked.

"They should be here tomorrow." Jacob answered. "If they get here in the morning I could do it right then and there."

"Can't. I have a job interview tomorrow and then work right after. Saturday morning would work."

"A job interview?" Quil jumped in. "Not digging being a bartender?" He asked and I felt my brows pinch together before I could stop them. What a rude comment. Why did people always make it seem like hospitality was a bad job? Like who cares if you're a server for a living. As long as you're making money and surviving what did it matter?

"For a second bartending job, actually." I responded with maybe a little too much snark.

"Where at?" Jacob jumped in shoving Quil off of him.

"A small brewery up in Port Angeles."

"Port Angeles? That's a drive everyday." Jacob frowned at me and I shrugged, indifferently. I had already looked it up. It was about an hour but it was an easy drive so I didn't mind. Plus I wouldn't be working everyday of the week so it didn't matter to me.

"If the money is good enough then I don't mind the drive. Hoping it's pretty busy there on weekends." I explained.

"So you're leaving here?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Going to try and do both."

"That's going to be exhausted." Quil jumped in again.

"I'll take being tired every now and then for some extra money." I said before walking away to help other guests. People were starting to cash out as the game ended. I got another round for Jacob and his friend before standing by the computer and entering all my credit card tips. While I was doing the mundane task, my mind wandered a little to later tonight. I would have to leave by myself and stand outside while I locked up. And the building was pretty close to a forest. I had seen something here in the past. Not the extent of last night but enough to know something was there. I frowned down at the computer before looking over at my phone.

I had been too scared to look anything up last night but maybe there was some urban legend in the forest that really did exist and I wasn't the only one who had seen a glance of it before.

I looked down the bar at Jacob and his friend, wondering if they knew any stories of weird things in the forest. Like a Bigfoot or something. I had heard of the Jersey devil before so maybe it was something like that. Jacob was looking back at me with a curious expression while his friend chatted on about something, not noticing that Jacob wasn't really paying attention to him.

Would he make fun of me for asking something so silly? I didn't know how to even word it without coming off paranoid. 'Hey, do you know anything of the giant beast that stalked me the other night?!' That just sounded stupid. I looked back down at the computer and glanced over at my phone. Maybe googling wasn't a bad option. It would make me seem a little less crazy. I turned around and noticed two people wanting to cash out so I used it as a temporary distraction.

The throbbing in my wrist only served as a reminder of what was waiting outside in the shadows. Was it following me or did it just live around here? Now I was slightly freaking out. I didn't know how I was going to leave tonight without screaming the whole way home.

"Hey blondie, you can cash me out." I looked down to see Quil raising a beer up. I nodded and printed his check.

"You okay? You're looking a little pale." Jacob muttered and Quil snorted.

"She's always pale, dude." I didn't know to take that as an insult or not.

"I'm fine. Running off of no sleep, but fine." I gave a half ass smile.

"I told you, you didn't sleep." Jacob tried to lighten the mood. I gave him a small glare.

"I'm not cranky." I corrected his earlier statement. Quil put cash down on the bar rail and slammed Jacob on the back a couple of times.

"Well you kids have fun. Don't stay out too late!" He laughed to himself before getting up and leaving.

"What time do you get to leave? You look like you could sleep standing up." Jacob turned back to me, completely ignoring Quil.

"Is that code for saying I look like crap?" I asked, only half serious.

Jacob rolled his eyes before staring at me with this weird look. "I don't think you could look like crap if you tried."

"Are you flirting with me?" I blurted out before my brain could even comprehend it was coming out of my mouth.

"What if I was?" He asked, a growing smile appearing on his face. I thought the look suited him really well. It seemed like a genuine smile, no smugness present. On a different note, I didn't know how to respond to his question. Flirting with me was a bad idea. I wasn't looking for any form of relationship but on the other hand, it did feel nice to have someone saying those things to me.

"What if I didn't flirt back?" I answered his question with another question.

"Then I'd just keep trying until you crack by my quick wit and charm." He smirked leaning forward on the bar rail.

"Quick wit? Is that what you call it?" I laughed, before I realized I was also leaning towards him. I took a step back and grabbed Quil's money off the rail, trying to distract myself.

"Okay, so maybe not so much the quick wit, but I definitely have the charm." The way he stared at me was giving me chills. Like he was staring into my soul or something. And those fricking eyes were going to be the death of me.

Jacob ended up staying the whole hour and a half before I started to clean up and lock up.

"Is this part of the flirting thing too? You hanging around until I have to leave?" I questioned as he walked out with me.

"No, this is called just being a decent person and walking out a young lady because it's late and it's the right thing to do." He shrugged and I looked up at him after I had locked the door to the bar.

"Ah, so the charm then." I pointed out and he let out a small laugh.

"Right. The charm." He crossed his arms and smiled down at me. He looked incredibly handsome in that moment. "That and I'm a great guy."

"So humble!" I snickered. I unlocked my car and turned back around to him. "Well I appreciate you waiting with me and walking me out. And for showering me with your charm." I teased him. I did find it charming that he walked me out, even if I was poking fun at him for it. I didn't know many guys who would do that…In fact, I didn't know of ANY guys that would do that.

"I'll text you about the car and we'll figure something out." I told him as I climbed into my car. He nodded and gave me a small wave before turning at making his way to a bike. Some motorcycle or something like that.

It wasn't until I pulled in at home and went to get out of the car that I realized I didn't even think of the beast in the shadows as I was leaving. Didn't even cross my mind once within the last two hours.

Jacob Black served as my distraction in that time. I glanced down at my wrist, still slightly feeling a throbbing before looking back up into the forest. I didn't see anything so I made a dash to the door.

I managed to settle in after a while and eventually I started to fall asleep. I could feel myself drifting, the lack of sleep finally catching up to me. I dreamt of eyes that night, but instead of them being in the shadows watching me, they were on the body of Jacob Black who seemed to chase away all the bad omens.

* * *

One Of Those Nights by The Cab

I did a piss poor job of editing this, just so you know. Was in more of a rush to get it out than anything. Sorry for any mistakes, I'll be going back later and editing. Enjoy.


	7. Chapter 7

"So tell me a little bit about yourself"

I'm a moderately decent human being just looking to pay my bills…

"I'm very outgoing and I love talking. Being a part of a team and being able to bounce things off of each other is an important aspect of life for myself. It makes for great connections with people too!"

I like to pay my bills on time and most people fucking suck…

"And what made you want to apply for this position?"

Because you need a job to pay your bills. You pay bills your whole life, and then you die.

"Well, like I said I love talking to people and I found that being a bartender is the best way to do that. You really get to interact with your guests in a way that a server might not be able to and really make a connection."

I fucking hate most of the people I talk to but sometimes when I wear lower cut shirts I make better tips…

"Alright, we'll I really like what you're about and you seem like you'd make a good fit. Let's set up a time with our general manager and we'll go from there!" The woman smiled at me from across the table and started gathering her forms up. I smiled back brightly and thanked her for her time.

God, I was in the wrong business…Maybe I should have looked into acting?

I let my mind wonder while driving back towards the Forks area, driving past nothing but greenery. Despite getting a good night sleep for once, I still woke up thinking about things that go bump in the night. I tried to force myself to get over it since nothing has happened since that night but it was still fresh in my brain. I just wish I could have seen a full body or something. Not knowing was half the fear. While my brain tried to wrack up some mythological creature, my phone dinged in the cup holder it sat in. When I got closer to town, I checked it seeing it was Jacob saying my parts came in.

'Tomorrow at noon work?' I sent back.

He replied with a bunch of thumb up emojis and I threw the phone back in the cup holder, surprising myself with how excited I was for tomorrow. Had my life become so mundane that I was excited for any form of human contact that wasn't someone asking me for another beer?

He was just fixing my car while I, no doubt, would sit in the same spot as before and just watch. Nothing remotely exciting about that. Except for the fact that I now couldn't wait until tomorrow. I was back to feeling like a giddy schoolgirl.

Maybe it was because he had admitted to flirting with me that made me excited. I hadn't had anybody interested in me in a long time so maybe this was just some natural reaction and had nothing to specifically do with Jacob. Like I would have been excited regardless of whom the guy was.

I rolled my eyes at myself acting like a hormonal teenager. Just because he flirted a little didn't mean he was seeking out a relationship either. Countless people shamelessly flirted with me at work but this seemed different. In the back of my mind I hoped he wasn't hoping that this was going to develop into anything serious because I was not good in relationships. I have court dates and police records to show for that. But if he was just being flirty for fun then I guess I could be flirty back, right? What if he was just looking to get into bed with me and that's why he was flirting? Could I handle a situation like that? I mean, let's be honest for a second, I'm sure sex with him would be on the mind-blowing level. You can't be built like that, be that good looking and then be awful in the sack.

I didn't necessarily believe friends with benefit situations worked because I feel like it's impossible for two people to be that intimate all the time and not feel something for the other. Which leads to deeper feelings, which leads to jealousy, which leads to emotional baggage. Or worse, it leads to a relationship. Yikes…

So would I be able to sleep with him just for kicks? Who the hell knew?

 _Why am I even thinking about this? Who said he was even interested in me?!_

Now I was getting ahead of myself. For all I know, he flirts like that with every female he sees and I'm creating situations that will never exist in my head. All I knew for sure is that clearly I'm bad at reading people. Again, why am I in the people industry?

My life went on as normal when I got home. I continued to over think stupid things until it was time to go to work and then I continued to make up situations that would never happen in my mind. I tried thinking about other things like this new job or how I felt like shit for leaving Miles alone for practically the whole day. I was an awful dog mom. Especially to the only boy to ever truly love me, unconditionally. Now I really felt like crap. Thinking about my dog had me thinking about him being alone again tomorrow and I frowned at the thought.

'Mind if I bring Miles with me tomorrow? I promise to keep him out of your way' I texted Jacob since it was slow at work.

'Yeah of course' My phone dinged not even a minute later. With that making me feel a little better, I put my phone back down only to pick it back up again. I sent him the dog emoji and the heart emoji next to it with no words. The conversation was obviously over so I don't know what compelled me to send the emojis but I couldn't stop the smile forming on my face when he sent back ten dog emojis.

Deciding that I was annoying myself, I forced my hands to put the phone back down and walk away. I really was turning into a giddy schoolgirl and I didn't like it. Since when did I think about guys this much? Never. Because guys are useless. The only thing anyone really needed in life was a dog or twelve.

So when tomorrow finally came around, I forced myself to remain indifferent. I was just going to get my car fixed because I needed a functioning car to get me to work. That was all. We were going to make pleasant small talk, and then I would leave and I would maybe see him around.

I pulled up to the same spot I did last time, except this time he was already coming down the porch steps. I noticed a ramp was also attached to the porch but had no time to think on it as he was already standing next to the driver side door. Miles was in the backseat and his tail was thumping against the seat pretty hard.

I opened the door and handed the keys to him. I then opened the back door to let Miles jump out and hooked him up to a leash.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked, taking the keys from me.

"Same ole, same ole. How are you?" I kept up the pleasantries.

"Can't complain. What's up, dog?" He asked, patting Miles on the head. His tail was still wagging at speeds I've never seen.

"So how long will this take?" I asked, trying not to sound eager to get away.

"Eh, shouldn't be too long." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. He looked nervous which just made me feel nervous. I nodded and took a step back with Miles as he jumped in the car. He did the same as before, driving it to the back with the door open and a leg hanging out. I walked behind and stopped so Miles could pee on everything he saw.

"Are you going to be a good boy today?" I asked him and he just stuck his tongue out and I swear it looked like he was smiling. I smirked and we finally made our way to the garage. Jacob was already standing at a bench with a small cardboard box next to him and what looked like some car part in a plastic bag.

"Do you want something to drink? Water, beer, anything?" He asked and I shook my head.

"No thank you." I took a seat in the same place I did the last time I was here. I was also mildly surprised he was being so polite. I found it hard to believe this was the same guy I met back at that tiny supermarket who had a permanent scowl on his face. Which reminded me of that time on the beach where he was really rude to me. How can you be so nasty to someone you barely know and then shamelessly flirt with them later? Made no sense.

Maybe he had a lot of baggage or something. Or was going through some stuff. Either way, I decided I didn't need something like that in my life. I already had enough baggage for the both of us, didn't need anymore.

"How's your wrist doing?" He asked and I glanced down at my wrist that was hidden under the sweater and jacket I was wearing.

"Uh, fine. Better." I twisted it a little to test its strength. It really was getting better, but still hurt a little. Then I thought about how it happened, and how I hadn't told anyone about that moment. "How'd you know I hurt my wrist?" I asked, feeling my brows pull together.

He frowned a little, but he wasn't looking at me. He pulled something out from the motor and set the gross looking item on the bench. "I saw you grabbing it at the bar. You kept flinching when you put a beer down." He reached for a not so clean rag sitting on the bench for his hands.

"Were you really watching me that much?" I asked, cursing my lack of a filter again. Why did he care enough to notice stuff like that? I was slightly baffled.

"What can I say? I'm pretty observant." He pulled one of the new small parts out of the plastic and ducked back under the hood. I looked away from him to Miles who was just sniffing everything his nose could reach. Jacob's words rolled around in my head and I couldn't help but frown.

I didn't need someone else watching me when I already felt watched constantly by something in the shadows. Was this feeling ever going to go away? Was I ever going to feel safe in my own skin again?

"How'd you hurt it anyhow?" He asked, breaking the silence that had settled over us.

"I fell, walking Miles." I said without missing a beat. It was technically true. I did fall, Miles was the cause of it, and we were walking to go to the bathroom so yeah, it was true.

"Huh." Was all Jacob said, not looking up from the car. He was pulling some gross looking tube thing out.

"Yeah. I got distracted and didn't notice him tangle me in the leash." I didn't know why I was still talking. I could have just left it at that, because clearly he didn't seem interested enough to keep asking. Why couldn't I just know when to shut up?

"Should be more careful." He mumbled and pulled a new clean tube thing out of the box on the bench. "Don't let your dog manhandle you."

"More like a wolf." I muttered, rolling my eyes before looking at Miles who was unaware he was being talked about.

"What?" Jacob's head snapped to me and he straightened up.

"I said more like a wolf. He practically acts like one anyway. Isn't that right?" I pet behind one of his ears and he plopped himself right next to me on the ground. "I'm sure you'd love for me to just let you run and catch your own dinner at night." I said to Miles who looked like he would have agreed with me if he could speak.

Jacob let out a snort and went back to giving his attention to my car. "There are wolves in the area. Maybe he could join one of their pacts." Jacob mentioned and I let out a small laugh.

"Would you like that, bubby? Do you want to join a wolf pact?" I said in a baby voice and his ears perked up and his tail started to wag. "Yeah?" I nodded and grabbed his face to rub with both of my hands. "Maybe I should get another dog and you can start your own pact." I told him and Jacob laughed.

"You one of those crazy dog people?" He asked and I smiled.

"I am. Dogs are amazing. Much better than people." I smiled down at Miles who's tail was still slightly wagging.

"They are much better than cats." Jacob said while he reached for the dirty towel to wipe his equally as dirty hands.

"So there are wolves in the area?" I asked, seeing an opportunity to question about the monster I saw.

"Yeah. They mean no harm though." He had this cocky expression on his face that I didn't really enjoy. Made me feel like I was missing some inside joke.

"Any other animals around here?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Well yeah. There are bears and all the other typical woodland creatures." He put the dirty old car part back in the plastic bag and threw it in the box.

"Bears? Do they get close to town?" I knew there were bears in the area but I guess I never pegged them as being close. I was a little closer to Seattle in Everett than I am here so I'm not used to wildlife being this close.

"Not really? They typically stay more in the mountains. Why?" He asked and another weird expression was on his face only this time I couldn't read it.

"Just wondering. For Miles sake, you know?" Didn't need my dog getting eaten by a bear or anything.

"I wouldn't recommend hanging out in the forest, if that's what you're getting at." He went to go turn the car on before making his way back to the hood. Miles sat up, thinking we were going on a car ride.

"I don't. But I do live near the edge of one. Would like to know what's living around me too." I probably mumbled more than spoke clearly enough.

"I wouldn't worry about anything." He had a frown on his face and I had a feeling it had nothing to do with the car and everything to do with this conversation. "Get a flood light installed or something if you're worried." He added.

"I'm not going to install anything to a place that I do not own. I'm only renting."

"Carry a flashlight with you?" He sounded like he was reaching for answers.

"Maybe I'll start." I wasn't opposed to the idea.

"I've lived here my whole life and I've never seen anything bad happen to anyone because of bears. And all the old legends say that the wolves are the protectors of the area. They are here to make sure nothing happens to the people." He explained and I was sure there was a legend for everything around here. Weren't tribes known for being excellent storytellers? I bet they had awesome bedtime stories growing up instead of the cliché kid stories.

"Old tribal tale?" I asked.

"Yeah, something like that." He smirked and crossed his arms, leaning against the side of the car. "I forgot, how'd your job interview go?" He asked. I was surprised in the change of subject and that he even remembered something like that.

"It was fine. Going in for a second interview with the GM. It was about as standard as an interview can go." I explained. "I love people and working with a team and all that bullshit." I snorted.

"Sounds like an excellent person to hire." He snickered.

"Exactly. Everyone knows that interviews are obnoxiously fake." I was thinking about how much I hated people and what my bills were looking like every month than how much I _loved teamwork_!

"Glad I never really had to go through that." I forgot he worked freelance. Or self employed? Whatever you call it, he got to make his own schedule and I was jealous for that. How he lived off of that was beyond me but I was still jealous.

"Lucky. Do you pick and choose when you want to work?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Give or take. I usually find jobs here and there. Someone's car always seems to have some sort of issue."

I nodded. I'm sure everyone would rather use someone like him, too, rather than going to an overpriced shop. That reminded me that I needed to pay him too.

"So do you live here then?" I nodded my head in the direction of the house behind us.

"Yeah, I take care of my dad who is in a wheelchair."

Ah, explains the ramp out front.

"That's nice of you. Have you lived here your whole life?"

He nodded. "Born and raised. You said you were from around here, right?"

"Everett. North of Seattle." I hoped he wasn't going to start digging for personal information.

"What made you move here? If you were getting out of town why not go to Seattle?" He asked and I let out a bitter laugh.

"I can't afford that. I feel like I can barely afford here and it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere." I'm sure I sounded bitter. Realistically I would love to be on the other side of the country as far away from Everett as possible but that wasn't how things worked out.

"Seattle is getting ridiculously expensive." He agreed.

I realized we were doing exactly what I said was going to happen. Sitting here making small talk the whole time. He hadn't done anything that I would have deemed as flirty so maybe I was completely out of line in thinking anything like that was happening. I also realized that he was still just leaning against the side of my car and that he had stopped working on it a while ago.

"Did you finish?" I asked pointing towards the car.

"Oh. Yeah. It should be good to go. Your check engine light is off now too." He pushed off the car and closed the hood. He offered to back it out and back onto the road, which I was grateful for. I didn't really feel comfortable driving through his lawn.

We stood in front of my car arguing over money for too long. He said he wouldn't take any other money besides the money for the parts. I said that wasn't acceptable and shoved more his way. I ended up letting him win the petty argument and I figured I would somehow get the money to him in the future. I'd either just put it in an envelope and put it in his mailbox or slip it in his jacket or something. Either way, I'd figure it out.

I opened the back door and Miles jumped in eager to go for a car ride. I closed it behind him and turned back to Jacob.

"So what are you doing later?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Later as in when?" I asked. Why did I feel like this was going in some weird direction? I felt out of my comfort zone, suddenly.

"Tonight. There is a bonfire down on the beach. Some of us are getting together before the weather really starts to go downhill." He explained and I nodded along.

"Ah, gotcha. I don't know." I shrugged, refusing to commit myself to something.

"Well if you want to come, feel free to show up. It'll probably start around seven." He was looking as cool as a cucumber, like he didn't have a care in the world. Maybe he was used to inviting chicks to shit like this?

"If I do decide to, I'll text you before hand." I let him know, opening the driver door.

"Cool. Alright then!" He smiled at me and it was pretty hard not to smile back. "Well if you have any more issues with the car, let me know but you should be good."

"Yeah, sure." I climbed in the car, thinking about how his eyes were shinning so bright. Kind of reminded me of a kid on Christmas. "Thank you so much again. I'd pay you but…ya know?" I gestured towards him.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't want your money. It was easy enough as is. And it was no problem, really. I hope I hear from you tonight and you come down." He took a step back and I stepped up into the car.

"I'll let you know. See you, Jacob."

"Yeah, see you later." He left me with a thousand-watt smile. I didn't know if I'd go out with him and his friends later, but I had to admit that it was nice hanging out with him today.

* * *

People by Kye Kye


	8. Chapter 8

I didn't end up going to the beach with Jacob and his friends. I didn't feel like awkwardly socializing with a group I barely knew on my day off. I ended up cuddling with Miles for the rest day and staying in my pajamas. Nights were getting a little easier than before. I didn't always have that feeling of eyes on me but I still wasn't 100 percent as ease. Maybe whatever it was I saw moved on and subconsciously my body knew that and knew the danger was gone. Either way, I was trying not to think about it too much. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say. Or a gift monster…

I was getting ready for a day at work at the brewery up in Port Angeles, since I was offered a bartending position after my second interview, when my phone buzzed with a text.

'Hey' was all it said. It was from a number I didn't recognize but I knew the area code was from the Seattle area. I debated on asking who it was since I didn't have the number saved but got distracted before I could make a decision by Miles begging to go outside.

I applied a little more makeup than I would usually wear but I didn't really know the clientele at this place or what everyone I was going to be working with was. If they were all prissy craft drinking hipsters, I might have to put a little more effort in to my appearance. I wasn't looking forward to an actual training schedule for a bit but I needed to pay the bills somehow.

My phone buzzed again as I was climbing in the car and I was hoping it was the unknown number explaining who they were but Jacob's name flashed across the screen.

'Missed you the other night. Let me know when you're free sometime' I read it multiple times, confused.

He was so straightforward and I didn't really know how to react to it. I wasn't used to that at all and I wasn't able to get a read on him. I decided to think about it and not respond right then and risk saying anything stupid.

Work wasn't as bad as I was expecting it. It went by pretty fast and the girl who was training me, Megan, was about my age and pretty funny. She had worked there for almost two years and had a dry sense of humor, which made me feel a lot more comfortable.

I was sitting in the parking lot after work, letting my car warm up a little, when I decided to pull my phone back out. Why would he send me something like that? The day we got to talk in his garage was pretty nice but I didn't get the vibe that he was trying to be flirty or get in my pants. So what gives!? Why would he send that?!

Maybe I was reading it wrong. I was reading it with a flirty tone. Maybe he was just texting me as a friend and it was just a 'hey, come by sometime!' type deal.

Fuck, why did I think so much?

Maybe I should just call him out on it… I mean, if he's being flirty wouldn't it be best to nip that in the butt as early as I could? I wasn't looking for a relationship so I would feel terrible if he felt like I was leading him on. I would respond later, I decided.

That didn't stop my mind from wandering the whole time I was driving. The closer I got to my place, I realized I could really use a drink or two. I had no beer or anything at my house so I made a pit stop to the tiny mart that I went to my first days here.

I grabbed a six pack of beer and figured I would grab my self something for dinner too. I made my way to the noodle section, figuring I would just make some mac n cheese. It was in that moment I also had the epiphany that I lived like a single bachelor. Beer and mac n cheese was a lonely man's combo. I snorted at myself while looking at the choices on the shelves.

"Baylee!" I heard and looked down the aisle to see Seth and an older woman who looked familiar wearing scrubs. Why did I have to run into people?

"Hi Seth, how are you?" I asked, assuming they were going to judge what I was holding.

"I'm good. Haven't seen you in a while. How have you been?" He smiled brightly. Was he always this happy? It was an unfamiliar concept to me.

"I've been working. The usual." I shrugged.

"Just a good ole' worker bee!" He chuckled. Not typically how I would describe myself but alright… "Mom, this is our friend Baylee. Baylee, this is my mom." He introduced us. I made sure everything was balanced in my one hand before I stuck out my other one.

"I'm Sue. Pleasure to meet you." She smiled and just radiated 'mom' vibes. I bet she made a killer home made meal.

"You too. I won't keep you guys any longer. I'll catch you around, Seth." I talked my way out of this situation.

"Yeah, you too. Don't be a stranger. Come hang out with all of us sometime!" The smile never left his face. I gave a half ass smile and turned to his mom.

"It was nice meeting. Have a good rest of the evening." She smiled and nodded at me and I skirted around them probably looking like a skittish rodent. I paid and raced to my car hoping to avoid all social interactions.

I was a shit show, long story short.

This just led me to believe he wasn't flirting with me. I was a hot mess so I don't see what would appeal someone like Jacob to me. Don't get me wrong; I'm not talking about my looks being terrible. I was actually pretty confident about my appearance. I enjoyed the way my hair looked and I knew how to put on makeup properly to not look like an orange clown. But I did not do well in social scenarios. And I had no idea how to act like a normal human being.

When I got home I put everything down and while I was standing with Miles outside I pulled open the conversation with Jake.

'For sure!' I sent back and regretted it the second I hit the send button. Why was the exclamation point necessary? I was in my own head now and pocketed the phone thinking I needed that beer more now than I did before. My phone buzzed when we were heading back inside and I dreaded looking at it so I ignored it.

Once inside, I cracked open a beer and pulled out a pan to make the mac n cheese. Once I was done with that, I pulled open my laptop and looked on furniture websites for things to decorate my apartment. It still didn't feel homey enough for me.

I went through a couple more beers, finally getting a buzz going, forcing myself not to drunkenly buy everything I saw.

My head snapped to my phone on the counter when it dinged again with my text tone. Jacob double texted me? Doesn't that usually mean he's desperate which would mean he totally was flirting with me.

I decided to bite the bullet and answer him back. I almost tripped on my way to grab the phone but quickly got my self together. I definitely didn't want to respond and let him think I was drunk or something.

However, I sobered up the second that phone was in my hand. I hadn't even started fully reading, but from what my brain was comprehending in that few seconds before I finally unlocked the phone, I thought I was going to vomit.

My heart was pounding to hard it hurt and the whole apartment seemed like it was closing in on me.

'Hey, it's Nick. I know you don't want to talk to me and I'm not supposed to be talking to you but I needed you to know how sorry I am and that I never wanted any of that to happen. You deserve so much more and I know I caused all of that. I know you don't forgive me but I just needed you to know how fucking sorry I am and that I fucking miss you Bay. I miss the good days we had and hope you're doing well. Like I said, you deserve it. You don't have to respond I just wanted you to know. Miss you, B.'

I was shaking so hard, I wasn't even sure I read it right. He's under a no contact order. I have a fucking restraining order against him and yet here I am reading a long text from him. My mouth started to feel watery and I knew I was going to throw up. I dropped the phone on the counter and raced to the bathroom. As I lay propped up against the side of the tub, I pushed my hair out of my face. I was sweating and had yet to really catch my breath. I felt so lost I didn't even know what to do with myself.

Miles made his way into the bathroom and sat next to me, not knowing what was going on. I lifted a hand and laid it on his fur, using him to ground myself. His tail started to wag a little and made a noise every time it hit the side of the tub. I took a few deep breaths and focused on him for a minute. It helped bring me back down to Earth and I eventually crawled my way to my feet.

I made my way out to the living room, eyes never leaving the cell phone sitting on the counter. I felt like he was in the room with me just staring, waiting for me to make a move.

The feeling of being watched became overwhelming and it was no longer from whatever was in the forest. Maybe it was him out there? Now I was just being ridiculous.

I just needed to block the number and carry on like nothing happened. Delete everything and my life will just go back to normal. I picked up my phone with a new gust of motivation before putting it back down and feeling deflated.

I shouldn't delete it, right? I could use it. I could go to the police. He's violating a no contact order. That's illegal…right? I didn't want to just leave that there on my phone though. I didn't want to be reminded of it every time I held my phone. The faster I went to the police, the quicker I could get this over with, right? I would just go tomorrow before work. They would deal with him and I could block the number and everything will be right in the world again.

With that decided I went to lock the phone again before the little notification button caught my eye. Panicking again for a second thinking it was another message from him, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding upon seeing Jacob's name.

'Great. Seth was over earlier said he ran into you buying beer. Having a solo party?'

I locked my phone again, quickly letting Jacob's words leave my brain and going back to the unknown number. How'd he even get my number?

If I went to the police right now, would anyone be able to help me? I tried to calm myself down and promised myself I would go in the morning.

I knew I wasn't going to sleep tonight. I felt watched and dirty all of a sudden. I thought about taking a shower to try and get rid of that feeling but I was a little too paranoid. I just kept telling myself in the morning, everything would be taken care of.

* * *

Little Miss Obsessive by Ashlee Simpson

 **Warning: CHAPTER 9 IS GOING TO BE GRAPHIC AND VIOLENT**


	9. Chapter 9

"B. You're acting fucking crazy." He was leaning back on the couch, trying to pack a bowl. I stood across the coffee table from him with my arms crossed. He was doing a pretty poor job of packing from what I could tell.

"I fucking know what I saw. And you aren't even packing it down." I gestured towards his hands.

"Oh really? What did you see then? Let's here it. Word for word?" He glanced up at me for a few seconds before leaning forward to grab a lighter off the coffee table.

"I know how to fucking read, Nick. Unlike you sometimes, I'm not an idiot." I crossed my arms again and hoped his burned the shit out of the weed and got nothing but ashes.

"Better watch your mouth." He said but in a pretty calm tone. He was acting like he didn't really care and it was driving me insane. When did we come to be like this? I missed the days I would be on the couch next to him in my pajamas, passing that bowl back and fourth, giggling about whatever silly show was on TV. We'd spend the whole time talking and throwing potato chips at each other. When did it get like this?

"Don't fucking talk to me like that. I'm so sick of your shit, Nick. I'm sick of sitting here and listening to your bullshit and your lies. I know you're out fucking around on me. I'm not stupid enough to not know what's going on. I am stupid enough to stick around while you do it again and again but you know what? I'm fucking done. I'm actually done with you. I'm getting my fucking shit." I turned and headed towards the room we lived in together in his mom's house. It might as well have been our house though since his piece of crap mother was never home and the place was trashed.

"Oh right! Because you're such a saint! You fucked my best friend and then act like I'm supposed to just get over that!" He shouted but did not move from his spot on the couch. I looked around the trashed room for a duffle bag or anything to put my clothing in. I had to climb over a pile of dirty clothing and trash to pull it out of the bottom of the closet.

He wasn't wrong technically. Zack and I did sleep together once. Nick was on a binge and was being a terrible human being so we broke up. Zack was pretty sweet to me at the time and was willing to pick up some of the pieces that Nick broke off of me. When push came to shove, Zack threw me under the bus when Nick called us out on it and shit hit the fan. Calming Nick down enough to just speak was a couple deal ordeal. He had agreed that he hadn't been himself and he was going to lay off the coke because it fucked with his head.

That had lasted about a month before he was back to his old self. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a saint during this whole shit storm either. For a while I was getting high just as much as he was but I weaned myself off of most of it. Watching what it was doing to the person I had given most of myself too was motivation enough.

While I was throwing articles of clothing around looking for anything that was mine Nick appeared in the doorway, holding the tiny piece he was smoking out of.

"So let's here where you're going to go this time? You can't stay with daddy since he disowned you for his new family since you and you're trash mother weren't good enough. Can't stay with mommy because she'll probably just pimp you out or something like that. You could try and call and charm Zack again but I doubt that's going to work. He might be looking for a good lay though, so who the hell knows. Could call up that cousin of yours but we know she doesn't want someone like you staying in her uppity Seattle crib. So where you going, B?" He lit the lighter and took another hit. He spoke so calmly that it made something switch in my head.

I grabbed the first thing my hand could reach amongst all the trash in the room and launched it at him. It ended up being a Mentos tin that he used for his coke at one point. He ducked his head a little and started laughing a little.

"Burn in hell Nick." I went back to shoving as much as I could into the duffle bag.

"Why? You know I'm right. You don't have shit, Baylee. You're life fucking sucks." He was going for low blows now.

"You're right. It does fucking suck. I've been wasting all my time with someone who can't tell left from right and has a pencil dick. I could have been getting fucked by someone who knows what they are doing instead of sitting here faking every time with you. _Oh! Nick! More, harder!_ Oh wait! You don't have more to give! That's all? At least Zack had some girth." I could hit below the belt too if that's how he wanted to fight.

I didn't have time to react as Nick snapped and with most of his power took the glass piece he was smoking out of and sent it flying in my direction. I screamed a little and trying to cover myself as it connected with my forehead and pain exploded across my face. I couldn't help the tears that instantly sprang to my eyes.

"Get the fuck out of my house, cunt." He turned and walked away as I cried into the dirty clothing surrounding me. I grabbed the half filled duffle and zipped it up. When I made my way out to look for my shoes and car keys, he was sitting on the floor by the coffee table with a razor and small bag filled with powder.

"I hope you get in a fucking car accident." He muttered as I pulled shoes on.

"I hope you fucking overdose." I said back, trying to keep my voice strong. He stood up so fast I didn't see it coming. I shoved the duffle in front of me as if that was going to be some sort of protection against him. He shoved me so hard into the closest wall and had the tiny razor pressing into the skin of my neck.

"If I see your ugly ass face again, I'll fucking kill you." He breathed on me, breaking the skin a little with the razor to make a point.

"Go ahead." I mumbled, despite the situation we were in. He smelled like stale mountain dew and marijuana. It was making me sick. He glared at me for a few seconds before he stepped back and grabbed my arm with one hand and tossed me towards the door. I somehow managed to twist out of it and grab my car keys. I tried to walk out of the house with my head held high but I was fighting a break down the whole time. I got into my car and drove off, trying to get as far away as possible from him.

It wasn't until I made it to the edge of town that I realized Nick was right. I had nowhere to go. My father acted like I didn't exist and if I tried to contact him, he'd contact the police for trespassing or something like that. I was too old for the police to care that I was his kid, regardless.

My mother was a lost cause. She was so strung out and always looking for her next fill, Nick wasn't far off in saying she'd be willing to pimp me out for a score. Wasn't even going to risk that. I could have gone to my cousin or aunt. They'd surely be annoyed that I showed up but they wouldn't turn me away. Did I want to make them deal with this though? I was a big girl; I could handle myself. Besides, that would mean driving to Seattle and I had work the next afternoon. I was dreading that. I drove to the edge of town and found a strip mall with a McDonalds. I parked there and turned the car off, trying to plan my next move.

Everything finally caught up with me and I choked out a sob. I was sobbing so hard I couldn't catch my breath and caused me panic more. It must have been hours before I finally settled down.

I felt like I was mourning a death. I didn't know who's death but that's what it felt like.

The death of myself. Nick had taken years of my life that I would never get back. I had killed a portion of myself with self loathing, drugs, and abuse. Those were years I would never get back and it felt like I would never escape this life.

The death of Nick. He was no longer the person I knew. He wasn't a man. Real men, hell, real human beings don't act like that. What used to be sweet nothings turned to name calling and arguing. He wasn't always like this. We used to sit and talk for hours and at one point we had our whole life planned out. We were going to get married and even with crappy paying jobs, we were somehow going to make it and get out of Washington. I mourned the loss of those days.

The death of everything I ever knew. I had become so comfortable in my shitty life that I didn't know if I knew how to do anything other than that. Leaving work after a horrible day and picking up a gram or an eight ball for Nick on my way home was so normal for me. Laying down in that room filled with dirty clothes and trash was normal. I stopped complaining about the filth at some point and started just living in it. We lived at that house with Nick's absentee mother doing whatever the hell we wanted. Could I function on my own? Was I so dependent on him that I didn't know how to live with just myself? For some reason the thought of buying actual groceries versus just a couple of bags of chips overwhelmed me so much that I started sobbing again.

What was I going to do for work tomorrow? I didn't have anything I needed. I thought about going to a Wal-Mart and buying pants and a toothbrush. Thinking about a toothbrush made me cry. A fucking toothbrush. I didn't even have a toothbrush on me. I was hopeless.

I don't know how long I sat there, mindlessly watching cars go around in the drive-thru. My phone buzzing is what eventually broke me out of my daze. I grabbed it off the passenger seat to see Nick's name on the screen. My heart started pounding and tears came to my eyes just from seeing his name. I unlocked the phone.

'Baylee. I'm sorry. Come home. I didn't mean any of it. I just need you.'

I let the tears fall down my face and thought about all the things I wanted to say to him. My head was pounding and I didn't know if it was a headache or the bruise that I'm sure had formed.

I continuously typed what I was thinking but would decide against it and delete it before sending anything. I don't know how long I sat like that just staring down at my phone but my phone eventually flashed a warning for the battery going so low.

'Okay' I sent and put the phone back in the cup holder before starting that car and heading back home.

* * *

Dirt Room by Blue October

If you're confused, **I'm sorry!** This whole chapter is set in the past. I was conflicted how I wanted to go about Baylee's past and I felt like her sitting and just telling someone about it wasn't going to have the same impact and since I've hinted at it so much this was a good way to go about it. So these will be sprinkled in throughout the story; Just a whole chapter with Baylee and everything that has lead her to where she is today. And they will be graphic and have strong language.


	10. Chapter 10

"So you're telling me you can't do anything?" I asked. To say I was annoyed at this point would be an understatement.

"Ma'am," First of all, don't call me ma'am. "Unless you can prove it came from him, then I told you I can't help you. Besides, it's not in our jurisdiction." The man wasn't even trying to hold his eye rolls at this point. How am I supposed to prove he physically sent it? Do I have fucking cameras on him? Do I have spies following him? Did I put the fucking phone in his hand and force him to type what he did? Like, what the actual fuck does that even mean?

"Not in your jurisdiction? So you're telling me crime outside of this tiny as fuck town doesn't really matter to you?" I asked with such attitude that I was waiting to be escorted out at this point.

"Unless you can prove to me that he sent it, I can't do much. Now is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked with the most obnoxiously fake voice.

"Unless you can find me an apartment that doesn't fall under this town's police force, then no. Thanks, officer." I rolled my eyes before turning and storming out of the tiny building. I've seen enough Murder She Wrote episodes to know that police forces were fake as hell but I didn't necessarily believe that happened in real life. Until now.

"Fuck this place." I muttered under my breath as I shoved the door open.

"Oh!" Someone let out and I tried not to trip while also grabbing onto the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I muttered, realizing I just shoved the door directly into someone. I felt pretty bad about it until I looked up and saw he was wearing a police uniform too. Never mind.

"That's alright. Can I help you with anything?" He asked, letting enough room for me to pass if I wanted to.

"No, I've already been helped enough." I sneered at the poor guy and stormed past him. While I knew taking my anger out on an innocent person was unnecessary, I couldn't help it. I just wanted to fucking get away and drive until I couldn't drive anymore and even then, I knew that wouldn't be enough.

I climbed into my car, slamming the door behind me and tried to calm my breathing. I pulled out my phone and glared down at it.

"Fuck you, Nick and fuck this fucking piece of shit town." I slid my finger and deleted the texting thread he had texted me and threw my phone behind me, not really caring where it landed.

I took a few deep breaths before starting the car and pulling away. I had a few hours before work and all I wanted to do was crawl in a hole. Maybe I could nap for a bit and then go to work. Nap off all of this anger and frustration.

While I was driving home, I heard my phone ding from somewhere in the car and it made me let out a small scream and accelerate a little more than necessary. I didn't want to even exist right now. Maybe I should go off the grid, like every other person who tried to 'find themselves' in Alaska or something. A self-discovery mission to the middle of the forest sounded like hell actually, so scratch that idea.

I pulled into my parking spot by my apartment door and while I was turning the car off, I heard the phone ding again. I groaned before leaning behind me to look for the phone. It took a few minutes before I actually found it on the floor but I managed.

The phone had a notification for some stupid app I had and a text from Jacob.

'You working tonight?' It read.

I sighed not knowing if I should respond or not. It seemed pretty rude not to but I wasn't exactly in the mood for proper manners. The thought of work was horrible right now. I didn't know if I could even interact with people properly, let alone be nice and cheery to them.

I sighed and looked back down at my phone deciding to bite the bullet.

'Yeah. 4' I sent him and climbed out of the car. After letting Miles out I plopped down in my bed. I pulled my phone out and set an alarm for when I needed to get up.

Eventually I jolted awake to the alarm going off and was surprised that I managed to actually sleep and sleep hard. Granted, I was running on no sleep for days now but still. I was thankful my brain managed to shut down long enough for me to get a few hours rest. I was also thankful I had no notifications on my phone. I don't know how much more my stress levels could handle.

I decided to go heavy on my eye makeup so I could play off any circles as smudged makeup and not stress. I pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and a baggy white v-neckthat I tucked in. I had a flannel somewhere around the apartment that if I could find in time I would grab. Not being able to find one flannel in the box of a shack I live in just goes to show how NOT together my life was at the moment.

After making sure the dog was fed and everything was in order, I did manage to make it to work in time.

I opened the door and made my way around the bar to Joe who was putting glasses back in the chiller.

"Hello." I greeted, noticing in my head that I was already in a better mood. That nap really did wonders.

A cat call whistle greeted me when I made it behind the bar from a group of regulars that were sitting at the end of the bar. They were the ones who gave me crap about not knowing sports.

"Well there is a sight for sore eyes today!" One of them yelled out and I rolled my eyes while waving them off.

"Hi boys." I mumbled and went to go clock in, dropping my purse on the counter.

"Aye, you leave her alone, you hear?" Joe shouted at them. "I don't need you lot chasing off the best bartender I got." He grumbled.

"I thought I was your only bartender?" I asked and the group behind me burst into laughter.

"You can come bartend for me, honey." One of them snickered.

"Depends on what you're paying." I shrugged which made him laugh a little more.

"Right to the point!"

"Always." I smiled and walked away from them to help Joe finish putting glasses away. Grabbing two glasses out of the wash and putting, I noticed a couple sitting towards the other end of the bar that looked of native descent. They were both staring at me. When I looked at them the girl turned away but the guy held the stare. He was massive and built kind of like Jacob was. His stare turned into a glare and I had the decency to look away.

If he was built like that, there must be something in the water on that reservation. There is no way every guy looks like that. But, if that was the case, they should really look into creating a sports league of their own. I bet they could hold their own with the Seahawks. Or they could all start a wrestling league or something. Whatever it is that giant people play.

"Alright, missy, I'm out of here. You know the drill." Joe nodded towards me and I gave him a thumbs up. First thing I did after he left was change the music by plugging my phone in. I was playing to Led Zepplin playlist and if anyone here didn't like it, I didn't care. I had a long day and I just wanted to listen to some classic rock.

"Never pegged you as a Zepplin girl, Baylee." One of the quieter regulars spoke up.

I shrugged and walked over him to him. He was sitting a few seats down from the couple that I noticed kept staring at me.

"I enjoy a lot of classic rock in general." I told him. "My music taste is all over the place."

"I don't enjoy the music your generation is really big into. That boom boom bass stuff." He waved and hand and I laughed.

"Boom boom bass stuff? EDM?" I asked, giggling.

"Huh?" He looked confused.

"Like, the techno stuff." I tried to explain and he nodded.

"Are you into that music?" He asked and I shrugged again.

"I guess. Music like that just makes me want to go out to a bar and drink a vodka cranberry." I told him and he laughed.

"That's very specific."

"And ironic because I don't really like vodka cranberries." I joked with him. I noticed the girl wasn't doing a very good job of trying to discretely look at me. Maybe I was just being paranoid after the morning I've had but I didn't get that feeling from anyone else at the bar rail.

We talked about music for a few more minutes when I noticed the big Jacob-like guy slam half his beer in one gulp and put it down.

"Want another?" I asked making my way to stand in front of them. He still had this pissy look on his face and she was a little wide eyed but kind of looked familiar.

"Yeah." He muttered to the point where I almost didn't hear him.

"What were you drinking?" I asked.

"Budweiser." He muttered again and his glare narrowed a little. I tried to fight it but I probably glared back a little. I wasn't in the mood to deal with problem customers. I walked away and poured him his beer. The chick thanked me when I turned to walk away after setting his beer down and I was already ready to get this guy the fuck out of my bar. You're going to just sit there and let your girlfriend speak for you because you're too rude? It kind of left a bad taste in my mouth and suddenly I felt bad for this chick even though I knew absolutely nothing about the two of them.

It was hard not to compare relationships in my head to my own in the past even though I've know come to realize that I wasn't in a normal situation back then. I would never wish a relationship like mine on anyone and I would hope anyone in a situation like that finds the strength to get help. That's the most I could ask for.

I don't know why I was dwelling on this couple. For all I knew, they were madly in love and had great sex. That would be ideal and I hoped for this girl's sake that that was the case. Maybe he was having a bad day too and that's why he was so pissy. I felt annoyed at him for being in a bad mood and taking it out on everyone and I felt annoyed at myself for caring so much about something so petty. My emotions seemed to be all over the place today.

I was especially annoyed that I was dwelling on it when a couple minutes later they asked for the check, paid (he paid, I noted), and left without a word. That's what I wanted right? Them to leave so I wouldn't feel like I'm being stared at and for his pissy attitude to get away from me?

The night seemed to drag on and eventually all my regulars left and left me with an empty bar rail a little before 9 at night. It dawned on me after a while that Jacob never showed up after asking me if I worked. He never texted me back either which wasn't like him. He always seemed to be the one to get the last word in.

I decided to start washing all the bar matts and start wrapping up for the night. I was collecting all the matts off the bar when the door opened, forcing myself not to roll my eyes. Only I didn't need to when I saw it was Jacob walking in.

"Wow. Packed place." He made his way to the bar, setting his phone and wallet down.

"Hey. I was just thinking about you actually. Weird." I told him, throwing a couple of the rubber matts in the wash.

"Thinking good things, I hope." He smiled. He looked beyond attractive. Not that he's not always attractive and he wasn't even wearing anything out of the ordinary. A simple cotton shirt and a zip up hoodie with jeans. Maybe it was the relaxed million dollar smile that was doing it. Or maybe it was because I was having a crap day and just his presence seemed to make me happier.

The fact that him walking in alone was enough to make my crappy day better was kind of freaking me out. I didn't need to get attached especially when I had already made up my mind that nothing was going to happen between us. If he was even thinking along those lines…

I still had no idea.

"I was just thinking about how you texted me and then never showed up." I explained, not trying to give him any ideas. I turned around to pour him a beer before continuing with my cleaning.

"I figured I would keep you busy while you closed. Plus, now you have someone to walk you to your car at night." He shrugged and I couldn't help but openly stare at him. He came specifically to walk me to my car? I didn't know if I should be flattered or kind of freaked out.

"How chivalrous." I commented dryly. The sarcastic-ness in my voice didn't seem to deter him away from conversation.

"How's your day been?" He asked.

"Shit. You?" We fell into small talk pretty easily.

"I've been doing stuff around the house all day. Pretty mundane. What's been so shitty? Besides your lack of customers right now."

"Rough morning." I didn't want to get into the details with him. I didn't need him thinking I was some psycho ex girlfriend or just psycho in general. Though I wasn't too sure we could rule that out yet… "And then rude customers. Just a long day." I thought back to this morning, thinking about how that seemed so long ago by this point.

"Oh!" I remembered earlier. "I had this couple in here earlier and the guy reminded me of you. You know, built like a linebacker?" It left my mouth before I could really think about it. I hoped I didn't offend him. Thankfully he let out a little laugh.

"Really? Bet he wasn't as charming as me." He smirked.

"Oh gosh no. He was a fucking prick." I shook my head. "Really though, what is in the water out there? Is everyone on the reservation built like that? You should all get together and start a sports league." I rambled while pulling a rag out to start wiping everything down.

"Wait." His eyebrows pulled together and I realized I probably did offend him. "He was Quileute?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He was with a girl who looked native too. I'm assuming they were together. Kept whispering to each other." His eyebrows were still pinched together. "Why? Do you know who it is?" I asked. I realized then, if he did know them, I probably shouldn't have called the guy a prick.

"I mean, probably. He was with a girl?" He clarified and I nodded again.

"Yeah. She had long hair, pretty chick. I don't know what else to describe. I tried to avoid them after he kept glaring around."

"Paul." He practically growled.

"You know him? Sorry I called him a prick."

Jacob let out a snort. "He is a fucking prick. Don't worry about it. That means he was with Rachel. That's my older sister." He muttered the last part.

Oh shit. Well great, I was rude to her boyfriend and silently judging her relationship the whole time. So one of my only friends in this new town and I've managed to insult his family. I'm on a roll. He must have noticed my frown deepen.

"Don't worry about it. I can't stand Paul half the time." He rolled his eyes.

"Well that must be tough since he's dating your sister."

"Eh," He didn't look too thrilled. "He's family. I tolerate it." He took a sip of his beer while I walked away to start putting stuff away. "So he was a prick to you?" He kept questioning.

"Not really to me," I said to him from across the bar. I leaned over the register to turn the music down a little bit. "He was just being short and in a horrible mood. I feel like I wouldn't really have noticed if I wasn't also in a horrible mood." I hoped he wasn't going to go home and give Paul crap or anything. He really didn't do anything to me and I would feel pretty crappy about it.

"What's got you in a horrible mood?" He asked and I didn't really know how to answer it without giving details away.

"I'm not in a horrible mood anymore." I clarified.

"It's because I'm here now." That cocky smile took over his face.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself." I tried not to look at him.

"So you didn't tell, what was so bad about this morning?" He asked again. Was he not going to let this drop?

"Running on no sleep and trying to deal with loose ends from Everett. " I summarized.

"Did you deal with it?" He asked and I shook my head.

"No. I'll figure it out though. I did take a really nice nap before work though. That's been a highlight so far." I changed the topic.

"I haven't taken a nap in a long time." He glanced down when his phone lit up on the counter.

"It was pretty great. Had to wake up to an alarm and everything."

"Would you still be sleeping if you didn't have an alarm?" He asked, looking down at his phone with a frown. He must not have liked what he saw because he put it face down back on the counter.

"Probably. I feel like I don't sleep and that was the first time in a long time I've really knocked out." I rambled on, yet again.

"Why don't you sleep at night?" He asked with a small frown.

"Eh," I pulled out the small brushes that went into the tappers to protect them overnight. "I just don't sleep very well in general. Plus, I don't think I'm used to my apartment yet." I looked over at him and he still had a small frown on his face and didn't seem like he was going to comment back.

"I think I just need to make it more 'me'. I've been looking online for little knick knacks to jazz it up a bit." I continued to talk.

"There is a thrift store in town, I think." He finally commented.

"Maybe I'll check it out. I need something on the walls."

Making small talk with him was equally as easy as it was weird. It seemed so mundane and a little lame but for some reason I kept talking and he kept jumping in. I felt like it almost should be awkward but it's not. And I still have no flipping idea if he's been flirting with me or not. He makes flirty comments and jokes and then we end up in situations like this, talking about a thrift store. Nothing flirty about would someone who was just interested in being friends show up just to walk someone to their car? That seemed a little to chivalrous than friendly. Or maybe he was just genuinely a nice person and I wasn't used to having people like that in my life. Maybe I'm just overthinking everything.

"How's the car running?" He asked.

"Just fine. Haven't noticed any strange noises." I still needed to work out some way to pay him back, now that I think of it. "You still haven't let me pay you." I reminded him. He rolled his eyes but a smile started to grow on his features.

"I told you, you don't need to pay me. You bought the cheap ass parts and that's enough. I barely did anything." He waved me off.

"Come on. You changed the oil too. People pay to have that done so just let me pay you!"

"You can pay me back by hanging out sometime. You've been blowing me off." He had that cocky look again. I let out a small gasp.

"I have not been blowing you off! I'd just rather not hang out with a group of strangers." I explained myself.

"How do you think you make friends, Baylee. You start off as strangers." Duh, his face read.

I didn't really have an argument against that other than me being awkward.

"At least hang out with me." He continued.

"Hang out? Like we're fifteen?" I snickered.

"Is there an adult equivalent to 'hang out'?" He asked.

"Let's get together. Or maybe 'Let's meet up'." I guess he had a point with that too. "Oh, you know, I really liked that diner in town. Let's do lunch." That was a compromise, right?

"Lunch?" He thought about it. "Okay, I'll do lunch." He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. I also realized I wasn't doing any of the cleaning I said I was going to do. I was getting distracted. "Tomorrow?" He added.

"I can do tomorrow. What time?" That was fast.

"What time works for you?" He asked leaning forward on the counter.

"Noon? I don't know. What works for you?" I asked, being that cliché indecisive girl.

"Noon is good. It's a date then." He leaned back and crossed his arms. His arms were so big I'm surprised they managed to cross easily. I suddenly had a mental image of Popeye pop into my head.

Then I realized he said it was a date. I shook my head.

"False. It's not a date. It's two friends meeting for lunch." I corrected him. I supposed I expected him to deflate a little but he just laughed.

"Whatever you say, Bay. I'm on your terms." He smiled, only this time it wasn't cocky.

"What does that mean?" I questioned.

"It means if you want to be friends then we're friends." He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward again on the counter. "And if you ever change your mind, then I'm here." Well that was a little cryptic. At first I was a little dumbfounded on how to respond but then I got the idea to play along with whatever he was trying to say.

"So if I wanted more than friends, you'll just be waiting? Are you that confident in yourself that you're going to make me change my mind?" I asked, crossing my own arms now.

"I guess I am." The smile was twisting into that smug one.

"So if I told you I wasn't interested in a relationship but I wouldn't mind if you came back to my apartment tonight, what would you say?"

I must have threw him a curve ball because the smile dropped a little and he looked surprised.

"R-Really?" He managed to spit out.

"We are strictly talking hypotheticals." I hopped I had that smug look on my face that he's been rocking for most of the night.

"Hypothetically then, that's what you're looking for?" He seemed a little too serious for my liking now. I thought we were joking and having a good time.

"Friends with benefits? No, because I don't believe in that. I don't believe two people could be that intimate for that long and not eventually start to feel something." I explained. "One night stands are an exception, I suppose."

"I agree." He finally commented after a few seconds of silence. "But people do start off as just friends and it eventually can turn into something more." Why was he trying to argue his point? He's not wrong, it does happen to people. That's how most relationships start off but that's not what I was looking for.

"Sure. But that's not what I'm looking for right now. So if you're waiting for me to wake up and suddenly realize I'm in love with you, I wouldn't hold your breath." I shot him down. Even though it's what I wanted and I wanted him to realize that too so he wasn't wasting his time, it still left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wasn't trying to hurt his feelings or anything.

"What makes you not in a place for a relationship?" He asked. I didn't really want to answer that.

"I'm just working on myself and getting my life together. My last relationship was a really bad one and I want to make sure I'm in a better place before I go back to anything like that." I surprised myself with the honesty in my own answer.

"What was so bad about it?" He kept digging. While I did just surprise myself with my honesty, I don't think I was ready to answer this one yet. Even if the words were coming out of my easily.

"Everything." I shook my head. "I'd rather not talk about it." I looked over at him to see he had a frown on his face. "What about you? Any ex girlfriends?" I asked, trying to get the conversation away from my past.

He snorted. "No." Was his only answer. Touchy subject too?

"I find that hard to believe." I told him over my shoulder while I counted the money in the cash register.

"Why's that?"

"Because you look like a football player met a Calvin Klein model." I gave him my best crossover. He busted out laughing and I smiled down at the money in my hands, happy that he couldn't see my face that was heating up a little. His laugh was contagious though and I couldn't help but giggle too.

"I like that!" He continued to snicker.

Eventually I did manage to finish everything and put all the money in the safe. Jake tried to pay me for the one beer but I waved him off.

"If you won't let me pay you for the car then I won't charge you for the beer." I had told him.

He stood behind me while I turned all the lights off and set the security alarm. I locked the door behind me and turned around to see him looking out into the woods.

"I think it's so creepy at night." I told him and he looked down at me.

"What? The forest?"

"Yeah. The longer I look at it, the more it freaks me out." I don't know what compelled me to tell him about it but the words were pouring from my mouth before I could stop them. "A while ago when I was still getting used to the apartment, I was taking Miles out and something was right at the edge of the trees just staring at me. Freaked the hell out of me."

He looked a little upset. "Something? You don't know what it was?" He asked but it seemed a little strained. Maybe he's seen this monster thing too.

"No clue. I could barely see a silhouette but it looked huge and we held eye contact for a bit. I still get freaked out about it at night if I think about it for long enough." Why was I still talking?

"I bet it wasn't anything threatening." I couldn't help but snort at that.

"Then why was it looking at me like I was something to eat?"

He didn't respond to that which I thought was a little strange. We fell into this weird silence and suddenly I didn't like standing out in the dark next to a forest.

"Well," I broke the strange silence. "I'll see you tomorrow for lunch then. I'll just meet you there?" I questioned but he still seemed a little distracted.

"Yeah, sure. Noon." He turned back to me and nodded.

"Thank you for walking me out." I gave him a hug, which he seemed happy about. He was warm as hell too. Felt amazing. "See you tomorrow. Text me if anything comesup." I told him while climbing into my car.

"Yeah. Can't wait."

* * *

One Hundred Sleepless Nights by Pierce The Veil

Also, was having issues uploading this. Ended up doing it through the app so I have no idea how to format looks or anything. Sorry for any mistakes!


	11. Chapter 11

I woke up feeling a little groggy and confused. The cloudy light coming in through the window was my first sign that it was morning. I had actually slept? What a miracle. Miles sat up when he realized I was awake and his tail started wagging.

"Good morning, handsome." I smiled at him, waking up a little more. I leaned over to check the time on my phone only to be shocked that it was almost 11 in the afternoon. How had I slept so much? I never sleep!

After finally shaking the last bits of sleep off, I made my way out of bed and tended to Miles. He was happily prancing around the house. The refreshing feeling and the happy dog seemed to put me in a great mood right away. It was a foreign feeling but I wasn't complaining. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, after all.

I was getting ready to get in the shower when I heard my phone's text tone go off. Waking up without any notifications or calls was really a blessing to me. My stress levels went up every time my phone made a noise and I didn't know what it was. Even if I did know who or what the notification was for, my stress levels sill went up.

I must have jinxed myself, just thinking about it because not even seconds later my phone went off again.

I glanced down to see Jacob's name across the screen. I let out a breath. Ever since Nick had texted me, my phone making any noise reminded me of that moment. I was just waiting to see his number across my screen again, even though I had just blocked it.

'See you at lunch' Was all Jacob had said followed by a happy face emoji. I let out another deep breath and remembered our lunch date that wasn't a real date. Was it too late to bail?

I know we said it wasn't a date but it still gave off date vibes.

I was probably over thinking this again. That seemed to be my specialty, especially when it came to Jacob. I wasn't sure why though. I couldn't even pinpoint exactly what he was doing that was making me overthink everything. He was just…being himself?

That meant I was the problem. Maybe it's because I had never been in a situation like this. I mean, it was pretty common for people our age to date around and mess around with each other. Although, most people our age didn't come out of abusive situations that stole years away of normalcy from them. Maybe he asks girls out all the time to lunch and that's just a normal thing for him. Maybe he thinks it's weird that I'm acting weird about it.

What the fuck is normal anyways?

I knew I was starting to sound like a broken record. It was always, 'maybe, maybe, maybe.'

Maybe I had no fucking idea what I was doing. Maybe he didn't either! Overthinking was going to get me nowhere. And it's not like he's forcing me into these things. I do have to option to say no if I want to. Nobody is forcing me to respond to his texts or forcing me to go to lunch with him. Or to always send him strings of emoji's like a middle school child. No, that was all on me.

If I was thinking with that logic then, if I said this wasn't a date then it wasn't a date. Simple as that.

Although when is anything that simple?

I let out a sigh and picked up the phone again. I sent him a thumbs up emoji (again, like a middle school child) and went about getting ready.

If this wasn't a date, then I didn't need to worry about impressing anyone. I dressed in black skinny jeans, some crappy purple tshirt from high school, and some black swooshy jacket that probably should have been left in the 90's. I left my hair flow the way it usually does after a shower. Also like normal, I threw on some dark eye shadow with probably too much eyeliner.

I liked a lot of darker makeup and all my jeans are skinny. I used to be teased for being 'emo' or some weird knock off hipster but that was the least of my worries. I didn't care what people thought of my appearance. I barely knew that to think of myself half the time, so why let anyone else's false assumption matter? That was my first epiphany moment I had after the whole Nick fiasco and so far it seemed to be the only epiphany that stuck with me.

This morning was spent with too much thinking. Thinking about things I didn't have a clue about, about my self-esteem, and about my brain being too active. I hoped this lunch was going to be a good thing for me. I needed just mindless conversation and topics that didn't require a lot of thought. I could probably ramble on about the weather for the next hour right now if I wanted to.

Eventually, after frying my brain for the last hour, I made my way out of my apartment and to the diner. I parked and looked around for the truck I've seen him drive twice now but didn't initially see it. I didn't really feel like sitting in my car waiting for him so I went inside to just grab a table before he got here. When I opened the door I was instantly met with a party of about nine or ten men sitting at a few tables pushed together. A couple of them were in police uniforms and it was like my brain wasn't catching up fast enough to process what was going on. I glanced over my shoulder slightly and saw a few police cars in the parking lot.

How the hell did I miss that one?

"You can sit wherever you'd like, dear." A nice lady in an apron smiled at me as she walked past with a pot of coffee. I tried to smile back but I'm sure it was a grimace and not a smile.

I noticed an unoccupied booth on the other side of the restaurant against the far wall. It required trekking past this table of useless cops but I was brave enough to do it. At least that's what I told myself. I tried not to make eye contact but it was kind of hard when I felt like half the people in the restaurant were staring at me anyways. It's like they knew I wasn't from this gloomy little area and I was an outsider, despite having been here for months now.

I happened to make perfect eye contact with the fucker that in not so many words said I was just being a dramatic ex girlfriend. I loathed him. Despite my trying to hide it, I knew my eyes narrowed at him and my expression turned dark. I turned and tried to hold my head up high as I made my way to the run down booth.

I finally managed to plop myself down and relax a little bit more. I knew subconsciously that it was ridiculous how my brain went into overdrive by the simple task of walking across a room full of strangers but it couldn't be helped. I wondered if I would be able to shut my brain down someday and not have to deal with these plaguing thoughts.

Anxiety was a bitch.

And so was that one cop. He was a bitch too.

A cute little teenager stopped by and asked if I wanted anything to drink. She didn't introduce herself or even really greet me. She looked half annoyed and bored.

"Sprite, please."

She disappeared as fast as she came and I snickered to myself. While most people would obviously find her behavior rude and unbecoming of a server, I found it hysterical. Because I _was_ that server. I was that eighteen-year-old girl making ends meet by waiting tables and I knew how exhausting it was to deal with the public day in and day out.

Granted, she may not have come from the same situation as I did. Maybe she didn't need this job to pay for her car or phone because mommy and daddy weren't in the picture and that's why she was so crabby and stressed. She could be handed everything she wants on a silver platter and really had no reason to be so bitter so young. But who was I to judge?

She returned with the drink and set it on the table.

"Ready to order?" She asked but she wasn't really looking at me. She glanced across the room real quick before looking down at her pen and pad.

"I'm waiting on one more." I told her, still half snickering.

"Alright." She muttered and walked away.

I hoped she wasn't bitter and upset because life had hardened her that way. Nobody that young deserves to be in that situation. She should still be in that stupid teenage phase were you still didn't have a care in the world.

Jacob walking in the door took my attention away from the server and the makeshift world she lived in that I had created in my head. He was pretty hard to miss, after all.

He quickly spotted me and made his way over. He didn't make it very far when his name was shouted by someone at that stupid cop table. It was pretty hard for him not to stop by without seeming rude. I couldn't fault him for that. He shook hands and patted one of them on the back that stood up. The more I watched though the more I couldn't help but feel like I've seen this guy before. Maybe he came into the bar before. They obviously were exchanging pleasantries when his attention was caught by the prick at the table.

I felt a little nosey to just be openly staring at him but I couldn't help it. My curiosity was at an all time high. I desperately wanted to know what he was talking to the prick about. Besides, he was a sight for sore eyes and I had no shame in that.

His eyebrows pinched together and he had a small frown on his face when he glanced over at me. He probably didn't think I would be looking at him because he quickly turned away and back to the prick talking to him. The other guy had a frown on his face when Jacob responded and he finally turned to make his way towards me after waving to the mustache guy he was originally talking to.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes." His frown was quickly replaced with a wide smile as he sat down across from me.

"Well that's ironic because I just thought the same thing about you." I smiled but rolled my eyes. Here I was flirting with him again. So if I was flirting back did that mean I was leading him on? I wasn't ready to be thinking about this endless cycle again.

I just wanted to talk about the weather and other mundane topics. Maybe I could somehow get him talking about cars and then I wouldn't have to think so much.

"Oh really now? You think I'm good looking?" He had that smug look that seemed to always be on his face recently.

"Everyone is beautiful in their own special way." I said with the fakest smile. He laughed again and grabbed at a menu on the table. I decided that I very much enjoyed the sound of his laughter because it made me want to laugh too.

"That was real philosophical." He looked like he was going to say more but we were interrupted by the waitress coming up to the table.

"Something to drink?" She asked him.

"Just a water is fine. Thanks." She walked away before he was even done speaking and I started snickering again at her behavior.

"Talk about rude." He muttered about her and I frowned a little at him.

"Hey, she's doing her best." I defended the poor rude girl. He raised an eyebrow at me and in my head I dared him to say something else about her.

"Suuure." He said sarcastically and I felt all form of humor leave my face as I leaned back in the booth.

"Have you ever dealt with the public all day, everyday? Do you even know how insufferable people are?" I questioned.

"Someone just got feisty. No, I don't know." He leaned his arms on the table.

"I am feeling feisty. You know, I was a server for years before I started bartending. I've pretty much only worked in a restaurant my whole life." I don't know why I was getting riled up right now but people talking trash about hospitality jobs just hit a nerve with me.

"And there is nothing wrong with that." He was still leaning forward on the table. "At least you have a job." He stated, implying that he didn't. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't feel bad for you. I offered to pay you and you wouldn't accept it."

"It was the most basic work! And you paid for the parts." He defended himself rather poorly.

The waitress appeared again and had her pen out the second she put the water down.

"I'll just have a cheeseburger with tater tots." He turned to look at me and I panicked realizing that I hadn't even looked at the menu.

"Oh! Uh…" Crap. "I'll just have chicken tenders." It was the safest thing to order. Have you ever been to a place that didn't have chicken tenders?

"Fries?" She asked and I nodded. She walked away and I turned back to Jacob.

"Chicken tenders?" He questioned with a smirk. I shrugged.

"It's a safe choice." I explained. "I've never met any fried food I wasn't a fan of."

"I tried fried zucchini for the first time not too long ago. It wasn't too bad." We fell into conversation easier than I thought we would. And this was exactly what I wanted: talking about simple things. Food was always a good talking point.

After a while our food was brought out and we hadn't had a break in the conversation since she was last at the table.

"So where is this thrift shop in town?" I asked him.

"Off the main drag." He vaguely explained directions to me but I still wasn't too confident in where I was going.

"Are you going to look around there today?" He asked eating a tot.

"I was planning on going after this. My place is so bare without anything on the walls or little stuff on tables." Not that I had a lot of furniture but it was still pretty bare.

"I can drive you there. It'd probably be a lot easier than trying to explain directions." He offered and I quickly weighed the pros and cons. I shrugged at him and nodded.

"Can I try a tater tot?" I asked him, finding a way to change the subject. _Technically_ , I didn't answer him so I wasn't committed to anything. He turned his plate in my direction so I had easier access. I grabbed one and the second I started chewing, I regretted my decision to get fries.

"Should have got the tots." I shook my head at myself.

"We'll trade." He pushed his plate towards mine.

"What? No. Don't worry about it." I told him. I could feel my brows pushing together. I didn't make the comment so he would give me his food. I thought I was just making simple commentary.

"Why? Maybe I want your fries." He smiled at grabbed one off my plate.

"I didn't make that comment so you would give me your food. I was just commenting on it." I told him and he gave me a weird look.

"I didn't think you were fishing for something. But your fries look good and obviously you like my tots so why not just trade?" He made it sound like the simplest thing in the world.

"Okay." I said but it came out as more of a whisper. He took that as the green light and grabbed all the fries off my plate. I did the same and grabbed the tots from his.

We carried on like nothing happened. And maybe nothing did happen but it still seemed monumental to me.

"So how's work at that other place?" He asked after a minute of silence. "The one in Port Angeles." I shrugged, not really knowing how to answer.

"Same shit, different day. It's pretty boring." I finally worded it as best as I could.

He snorted. "Sounds great." The sarcasm was dripping off his words.

"It's a lot of hipster beer snobs. I've never been a picky drinker so sometimes I don't really know how to react to people." I managed to put my feelings into words. "They are really into their own beer and I'm not really impressed by it. But the food is pretty decent." I finally shrugged again.

"Sounds pretty dull." He grabbed a napkin from the small box of them on the end of the table. He had already finished his cheeseburger while I had barely made it through one of my tenders.

"I won't complain about the extra cash though. How about you? Any new work?" I asked still not really sure what he did. I knew he worked on cars and I thought he worked part time at someone's garage but I wasn't exactly sure.

"Not really. I bought a really beat up Mazda to fix up the other day so that'll be my new project for a while."

"Do you just fix the motor and sell it again?" I was genuinely curious. Maybe there was more money in flipping cars than I thought there was.

"The motor is all jacked up. The insides are destroyed. Needs a whole new interior. It'll probably end up being the most work I'll have done on a car. Especially a car that isn't going to end up being mine."

"How long will something like that take you?" I asked while finishing off the tater tots.

"Depends how much time I have and how quickly I can find parts. Probably months."

"Do you want a chicken tender?" I asked him and he didn't hesitate to go for it. "What are you? A bottomless pit?" Seriously, where did he put everything?

"I'm a growing boy." He chuckled.

"Right. If you're still growing, soon you won't be able to fit into any clothes." I smirked at him.

"I already have a hard enough time finding clothes that fit right as is."

"I struggle to find jeans that fit right so I can't even imagine." I giggled.

"Maybe you'll have better luck at the thrift store." He smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. He really was a good-looking guy. I'm really surprised he didn't have a girlfriend. Or a flock of female followers. Would I fall into that group?

The waitress coming to the table took my attention away from him. "Anything else today?" She asked in a bored tone. We both shook our heads and she dropped the check off before moseying away. We both reached for it at the same time.

"Ha! No." I told him with as much of a glare as I could muster up.

"Come on. Let me be a gentleman." He half rolled his eyes but he had an amused look on his face.

"No way. This was my idea anyways." I argued.

"You'll hurt my ego."

I scoffed at that. "Please. Your ego could use a few good hits."

"You wound me." He put a hand to his chest and fell back in the booth. I used the opportunity to grab the bill and reach for my wallet.

"You got the next one, Romeo." I threw my card on the bill and pushed it to the end of the table.

"So I get a second date?" His smile grew and I continued to glare at him.

"Hard to get a second date when you haven't even gotten a first one." I put my chin in my hand. The waitress didn't even stop as she walked past to grab the card.

"You're a hard egg to crack." He joked.

"Who said I want to be cracked?" I countered.

"Maybe that's true. But you haven't given me a chance." He was acting wounded again.

"Why should I? You treated me like crap the first couple of times I saw you." I hadn't forgot that. He looked troubled and I somewhat regretted bringing it up. Maybe he was going through some stuff at the time.

"I wasn't in a good place." He eventually spoke, all tones of joking gone.

"Sorry." I mumbled. The waitress returned putting the bill and card back on the table in the same spot it was.

"Have a good day." She mumbled and walked away just as fast as she came.

"It was nothing personal. I didn't even know you at the time." He tried to explain and I shrugged.

"I don't need an explanation." It was true. I'm sure I walked around with a permanent frown on my face after the Nick fiasco. Hell, I'm sure I _still_ have a frown on most of the time.

"Well I still think you deserve one. I apologize if I came off as rude."

Why was he apologizing? I certainly didn't ask for one, nor did I think he needed to give one. I stared at him and he seemed sincere. It was refreshing.

"No apology needed. I hope you got through whatever it was you needed to."

"I did." He beamed. Talk about whiplash. "So who's driving?" He asked. I reached to put my card back in my wallet and sign my name on the credit card slip. Feeling bighearted, I ended up leaving the girl a twenty-dollar tip.

"That's awfully generous." Jacob mumbled, watching me fill it out. I turned it over on the table and grabbed my purse.

"She reminds me of someone." I smirked at him and slid out of the booth. "You can drive." I told him, hoping I wouldn't regret that. If he was driving that meant I was stuck on his time. We made it to his truck and I climbed in the cab.

"Why do you have so many clothes in here?" I asked. His cab had more shirts, what looked like shorts, and sweaters everywhere.

"I don't know. They just accumulate." He shrugged throwing some from the floor by my feet to the small space behind the seat.

"You have a whole closet in here." I laughed.

"I don't know how so much got in here. I haven't even had this truck long." He stopped throwing stuff behind him and we were off to the thrift store. Some classic rock station was playing on the radio but it was turned down pretty low.

"So you knew those cops in there, obviously." I was reminded as we pulled up behind a cop car at a stop sign.

"Ah, yeah." His eyebrows pinched together. "One of them anyways. Charlie. He's my dad's best friend. Like a second father to me. He's the chief of police in Forks."

I'm glad he explained that because I might have opened my mouth to say something awful about the police force here in Forks. Now I knew better. But I was dying to know what that prick of an officer said to him. "Why?" He asked.

"Just wondering." I waved his question off. We pulled into a tiny parking lot and he cut the engine. "We are looking for cute knick knacks." I told him, hoping to change the subject.

"Right. Knick knacks." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He held the door open for me as we made our way inside. There was a teenager behind the counter blowing bubbles with her gum and reading a magazine. Didn't even look up as we entered. Maybe it was just the teenage population in this town who didn't give a rats ass about anything?

The place itself was rather small and it seemed like there was just stuff everywhere. There was a section for clothing and then just shelves filled with various items, all of which seemed to be collecting dust. Bad 70's music droned in the background. Walking into this place reminded me of walking into a time capsule.

"Well let's get to it." I told him making my way towards one of the aisles. It didn't take long for me to realize that there was a lot of useless stuff on the shelves. I picked up a ceramic pot of gold.

"What's the point of this?" I asked, rhetorically.

"It's missing a leprechaun." Jacob popped up behind me.

"I'm sure you could find one somewhere in here." I giggled. I set the little ceramic down and moved on. We moved on, eyes glancing over everything and anything.

"The hell is this?" Jacob asked picking up a purple wand like toy. Taped to it was a bag of beads and string. He spun it around.

"It looks like one of those hair weaving things. They were super popular years ago." I guessed. Not like my mother could ever afford to buy me anything like that. All of our money went towards recreational activities for mommy dearest.

"I still don't get it." He looked adorably confused. I was allowed to think that, right? I mean, I already admitted that he was attractive. Didn't mean I had to act on it.

"So you put the string in it and the beads and then you put a strand of your hair in it and it wraps the string around your hair with the beads. It's supposed to be trendy." I explained and he nodded.

"Right. Yarn hair. Trendy. Got it." He put it back on the shelf and I laughed.

"You learn something new everyday." I patted his arm and continued to mosey down the aisle. We carried on like that for a little bit, making commentary about various items.

Then I spotted it. The piece of gold in all the crappy rocks.

"Oh. My. Gosh." I raced towards it. It was about a foot tall, a little warn out but still in good condition, and totally perfect.

"Really? That's a winner?" I looked at Jacob who was staring at the dog figurine with little to no interest.

"It's so cute! And he's smiling." I turned it towards him. I looked at the price sticker on it. "And it's only two dollars! That's a steal!" I turned it back towards me.

He snorted. "Two dollars too many." I mock glared at him.

"Don't hate. Besides, it's not like it's going in your house." He rolled his eyes at me.

"You're right. I have better taste than that." He laughed and I turned around to hit him in the chest.

"Comedy is your calling." I said with sarcasm and walked away from him.

"Hey, I'm just teasing." He caught up to me in one stride. "It's not that ugly."

"That's weird. That's what people say about you."

"Who's the comedian now?!" He was so loud, his whole voice boomed across the store.

"Hush. Use your inside voice." I pushed him again. He chuckled. "This is looking like the only useable thing in here." I looked down at the dog in my hands again. We went to pay and made our way back to his truck.

"Well at least it wasn't a wasted trip." I put the figurine in my lap.

"So where are you going to put this prized possession?" He asked, pulling back out onto the main road.

"I don't know. Probably on the little end table I have next to my crappy couch. It'll guard the room." I smiled.

"You already have a guard dog." He commented.

"Poor Miles. I feel guilty about how much I leave him. He needs a good run soon." I missed my guy the more I talked about him.

"He's a good dog. You should bring him to the beach sometime and let him go." Jacob suggested, turning back into the parking lot of the restaurant.

"He is. He's a little mischievous but he's a good boy. He's my guy. The beach is a good idea." Jacob parked next to my SUV and turned the car off. I climbed out while fishing my keys out. "Today was fun." I told him.

"It was. Was I fun enough to get a second date?" He asked again.

"I told you it wasn't a date. Don't you have friends? Do you bug all your friends for second dates?" It wasn't a date…

"Yeah. Seth is close to cracking." He joked and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Whatever. I'll see you when I see you." I turned back to my car.

"Oh, come on!" He threw his hands up. "I'm teasing. Fine, it wasn't a date." He put his hands down.

"Thank you." I smiled at him. "Now, I'll see you when I see you. I'll send you a picture of the dog when it finds a suitable home."

"Looking forward to it." He leaned against his truck looking like he wanted to say more but remained silent while I climbed into mine. He was still leaning there while I backed up and pulled away.

I was insanely proud of myself when I got home. I had a great day with no bad thoughts and great company. It wasn't awkward and I was happy to finally be making a real friend. I ended up putting the dog exactly where I was I was going to and spent the rest of the night cuddled up with Miles looking at news headlines on my phone.

Maybe things were finally looking up for me.

* * *

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence and the Machine


	12. Chapter 12

I hadn't talked to Jacob since the thrift store adventure a few days ago. I was surprised he hadn't texted me but I also haven't made an effort to reach out to him either so I wasn't too concerned. I'm wondering if the date comments I made had upset him. Maybe he really did think it was going to be a date and I just shit all over that. But he can't be upset at me for making it clear what I do and do not want, right?

I've come to realize now that thinking of Jacob means overthinking everything. Something about him just made my brain go into overdrive.

I worked every night since then, only once at the restaurant up in PA. It was while I was working at the bar one night, that my good luck seemed to run out. A group of guys had come in pretty late so I wasn't able to close down until after midnight. They had tipped me well so I wasn't too upset about it. The drive from the bar to my rundown apartment was maybe one mile.

In that mile, I managed to get pulled over. It was seconds after I pulled out of the bar's parking lot that a squad car was behind me. They followed me for a minute before they threw their lights on. I had no idea what I was doing. I knew I wasn't speeding so I assumed maybe it was a taillight or an issue with the car.

I sat in the car with a bright floodlight flashed towards me. I sat there for a few minutes before I finally watched the cop's door open in my mirror. It was difficult to see anything though with the light blasting my mirror and hitting me in the face. I rolled my window down only to be greeted by officer prick walking up.

I immediately scowled. I was ready to play nice but not anymore.

"Good evening, ma'am!" He greeted me with a shit eating grin and a tip of his hat. Don't call me fucking ma'am.

"What's the issue?" I asked, sounding as annoyed as I'm sure my face looked.

"I'm great, thanks for asking." He deadpanned. Why would I ask the cop who pulled me over well past midnight how he was doing? Let alone, this fucking prick. I didn't respond.

"Do you know how fast you were going, ma'am?" He asked and I felt my eyebrows pinch together.

"The speed limit." Realistically, I was probably going slower. He pulled behind me the second I left the parking lot and wasn't it just a person's natural reaction to drive slower when a cop was around?

"Well, see now, that's the funny thing. I've got you going about 15 over." The shit-eating grin was back on his face. I frowned and tried to think of if I actually was speeding but I'm almost positive I wasn't. There was no need to speed when you live down the flipping street.

"That's impossible." I muttered.

"I'm going to need to see some registration and a drivers license." He carried on like I hadn't spoken.

"For what? I wasn't speeding!" I couldn't help but raise my voice at him. This was ridiculous. And I wanted so badly to wipe that grin off of his face…

He took a deep breath through his nose and then frowned at me. "Have you been drinking this evening?" He questioned and I so badly wanted to roll my eyes.

"No. I bartend." I continued to glare at him.

"You didn't slip yourself a couple of drinks?" He was beyond annoying to me now.

"No."

"Would you mind proving that?"

I snorted at that. "I don't need to prove anything because now you're just looking for any ridiculous reason to give me a ticket."

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to step out of the car."

"This is fucking ridiculous." I muttered and he almost tripped trying to step out of the way when I swung the car door open with too much force than necessary. "Am I doing a sobriety test now?" I asked him and crossed my arms. Unfortunately I was familiar with the process. Actually I was familiar with sitting on the curb watching someone else go through the process but same thing…

"We don't need to do one if you think you can easily pass the Breathalyzer." The expression on his face was just making see red. I fucking hated this guy.

"Then go get it, officer Prick." I glared at him and he quirked an eyebrow up.

"Excuse me? What'd you just call me, girly?" Oh now I didn't know which was worse. Girly or ma'am.

"I didn't say anything." I smirked at him but continued to rock the sour expression.

"You're treading on thin ice." He glared back now. Did any of this even have a purpose? Was I getting a ticket or not? I couldn't get arrested for talking back, right? Shit…

"Grab your license and registration." He glared at me, all tones of smugness now out of his voice. He stomped back to his car to grab whatever and returned with the familiar looking device in his hand. I snorted again, not actually believing he was going to make me do this. I figured it was just an intimidation thing. He snatched my license and registration from my hand and held up the device.

"Blow." He barked.

"Usually they buy me dinner first." Usually I would have laughed at my own comeback but I didn't have it in me. I was still kind of in shock that I was standing on the side of the road in some bum-fuck down about to take a breathalyzer when I hadn't done anything.

Although, the vein that was now popping on his forehead was satisfaction enough.

I wanted to stick my middle finger up when it came back at zero but I managed to refrain. Barely.

"Get back in the car." He once again barked and he stormed back to his with both my drivers license and registration. I sat fuming in my car. It was now a little past 1AM. I stopped looking at the clock after that so I don't know how long I sat there until he came back.

"You don't live in Everett anymore. What's your new address?" He asked.

"What exactly am I getting a ticket for?" I didn't answer.

"Speeding and disorderly conduct."

"W…..Wait…What?!" I stuttered. "I didn't do shit!" I glared.

"Address?" He acted like I didn't even speak.

I glared as much as I could and told him my new address. I was really really starting to hate this town. He chuckled when I told him and I finally rolled my eyes. Right then and there I decided I was going to the police tomorrow to file a complaint.

Wait, didn't Jacob know someone who works there? The guy ripped the ticket out and handed it to me. I glanced down and instantly the $150 jumped out at me. I wanted to scream but I wasn't going to do anything in front of this fucking prick.

"Have a good evening ma'am. And drive a little more carefully next time." He tipped his hat again and walked back to his car.

"Go fuck yourself." I muttered as I rolled the window up. I saw him pause in his stride back to the car but he continued on.

Eventually I made my way home and Miles greeted me eagerly. This is why dogs were so great. No matter how terrible things were in your life, they still loved you to death. His wagging tail and jumping on me should have cheered me up (it was greatly appreciated) but it triggered something in my brain and I finally broke down crying. Why did this shit happen to me? What did I do to deserve any of this? (Don't answer that, I actually probably did deserve all of this) But I was in the mood for some self-pity, it seemed.

"Let's go outside." I mumbled and grabbed his leash. We made our way outside and he instantly ran to the edge of the tree line and started sniffing. I grabbed my phone out of my jacket and decided to text Jacob.

'Are you that close with that police guy?' I asked trying to recall exactly what he said about the guy from the diner. I know he said they were like family. I put my phone away and watched Miles.

Of course as if my day, or night I should say, weren't going _terrific_ enough, my mind wandered to the forest and those eyes staring back at me. I thought I was done thinking about that but apparently my brain had other ideas. Before I could start panicking or making up things in my head, my phone making noise distracted me.

'Charlie? He's practically family. What about him?' Jacob had texted back. I was surprised he was still awake this late at night. I wondered if I could just call him but I didn't want to bother him. Maybe he was sleeping and my text woke him up.

'What's wrong?' He texted again before I could respond. He was obviously thinking about what I had sent him now and I didn't want to worry him so I gave him a call. It rang twice before he answered.

"Baylee?" He asked, not sounding tired or like I woke him up in any way.

"Hey." I mumbled, mad at myself that I couldn't make my voice sound stronger.

"What's wrong?" He asked again and I sighed, trying not to let him know I had been crying.

"I got pulled over and the cop was a fucking asshole. Pardon my language." Looking back, I don't know why I added the last part. I had the mouth of a sailor. Maybe it's because I didn't want Jacob to see me in that light which implied I cared what he thought about me.

"What's his name?" He asked, not sounding happy. Though I couldn't blame him for that.

"I honestly don't remember. I'm sure it's on the ticket he wrote me. He followed me from the bar, like was waiting for me, and then pulls me over for speeding. I wasn't speeding. And then makes me get out of the car to do sobriety shit, because apparently I smell like booze and now I've got a ticket for speeding and disorderly conduct and I-I wasn't…" I trailed off because I had started crying again which just frustrated me even more.

"Bay, you're good. Stop crying." He said and I tried to take a deep breath but it was shaky. "What happened exactly?"

"He followed me from work. He pulled me over and said I was speeding. Was being super creepy. I wasn't speeding. Then he makes me get out of the car because he thinks I've been drinking. I told him I came from work but he didn't care. Then he makes me do a breathalyzer which came back negative and then he j-just keeps being a p-prick." I really wish I could stop crying.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I don't know!" I half shouted. I didn't mean to yell at him but I was not in control of any of my emotions. "Yes. I think." I finally muttered. It was quiet for a second.

"Baylee." He finally spoke. "Take a deep breath." I tried to take a deep breath again.

"I can't." I whispered but continued to try. Trying to take a deep breath just resulted in me taking a bunch of quick ones.

"I-it it was j-just…" I tried to comment but nothing more came out. "I'm j-just trying s-so hard to…to be…to be a good p-person." I gasped.

"Baylee!" He shouted. "Come on Bay, where are you?" He asked.

"H-home." It felt like I couldn't breath. I suddenly felt like I was back in my car in a random parking lot sobbing over how shitty my life was. I was back in Everett, trapped for life with no way out.

"Hey, Baylee. Listen, I'm going to come over and we'll figure this out together?" He seemed to sure of himself and calm, it was actually helping me a little. "Stay on the line but I want you to text me your address, okay?"

"Yeah." I squeaked out but him asking for my address just seemed to bring on a fresh wave of tears. That prick knew my address now too. Thankfully I wasn't wheezing or full on sobbing again. I managed to pull open the texting app and open his name up while the call still ran in the background. I watched the sending bar slide across the phone and pause for a second before fully sending.

Was I being selfish? I felt like I was just projecting my problems on to him. A small part in the back of my brain was asking what was he going to be able to do at 2AM? But another part of me didn't want to be alone so I was beyond grateful.

"I'll be there in ten minutes, Bay." I heard him say and I looked down at the phone to check the time. He was too good of a person.

"Okay." I finally brought the phone back up. Miles chose that moment to pull at the leash really hard and let out a loud bark, causing me to jump. My breathing picked up again.

"Hey, Bay, I'm on my way. What's Miles barking at?" I heard him ask but I wasn't really paying attention. Instead I was focused on Miles intently staring at something in the forest. He let out a few more barks before his tail went straight and he was on full alert mode, which put _me_ on full alert mode. He stopped barking before he let out a low growl and started pulling at the leash to go into the forest.

I was full on panicking at this point. I hit the end call button and pocketed the phone to use both hands to grab at the leash, not thinking twice about hanging up on Jacob. Probably really rude of me to make him worry more than he probably already was but I felt my body going into flight or fight mode. I was hoping flight was the appropriate response here.

"Please come on." I gave a pull and Miles walked back a couple of steps but was still stuck on something in the forest. I had to throw a lot of my body weight into getting him to step backwards. The wrist that I had originally injured started to hurt a little again. It served as a reminder that this wasn't the first time this has happened to me. Maybe whatever out beyond the tree line was stalking me?

The tiny rational part in my brain thought that it was maybe a squirrel or bird that was antagonizing him. Unfortunately that part of my brain wasn't the one functioning.

"Miles!" I squealed, my voice reaching an octave I didn't even think possible. I used a lot of my body strength and gave a tug making him fall back a little more. Whatever was out there was really antagonizing him. "Come on! Want a treat?" I asked him. His ears changed position but he was still facing the forest. "Treat?" I asked again but my voice was losing power. Finally his head turned back in my direction and I used it to convince him to follow me.

I moved so fast, or as fast as I could while yanking a huge dog along, towards the door. I registered in the back of my mind that my phone was vibrating and had been since I hung up on Jacob. My hand moved before my brain could catch up to what was happening and suddenly I was answering the phone. I finally slammed the door behind me and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath.

"I've been trying to get Miles inside." I mumbled, ignoring Jacob calling my name out.

"Are you okay?" He sounded kind of breathless and something weird was in his voice.

"Uh…" I sank down the door. Miles was standing in the room with his tail slightly wagging just staring at me. I wondered if he was waiting for the treat I promised or he was waiting to see if I was ever move again from the spot I had sunk down to. My body no longer felt like cooperating with me.

"Baylee!" He practically shouted and I had forgotten for a second that I was even on the phone.

"What?" I asked. Is this what going into shock felt like?

"The hell is going on?" I opened my mouth to answer but no words came out. What was even happening? I almost got eaten by something in the forest? Again? "I'm almost there." He added on, his voice a little softer this time.

Did I almost get attacked though or was my brain just going into overdrive making up things that weren't true? The first encounter had definitely been real. Those eyes were forever burned into my brain. But I didn't see anything this time. Miles just decided to go bananas at something. Maybe I was right in thinking it was just a squirrel. He did have a habit for chasing those. Was I just so stressed that I was making shit up in my head? My nerves were completely shot. All I wanted to do was fall asleep and maybe not wake up for a few days.

"Baylee!" I realized the voice on the other end of the phone was calling out my name.

"Huh?" I managed to choke out.

"Let me in." He had said and I vaguely heard a car door slam outside. A few seconds later there was a small knock on the door, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. I scrambled up off the floor and reached for the door handle before pausing.

Why was he here? Did I even want to be in someone else's presence right now? I'm sure I looked like absolute hell and like I belonged in a loony bin. Miles barked, making me jump again, and his tail started wagging fast.

I was a horrible person for making him wait. I looked down at my phone in my hand realizing the call was still connected. Here he was probably worrying because I'm a psycho and I'm standing here not letting him in.

I flew the door open and he looked just how I imagined he would. His eyebrows were pinched together and he was looking me over like I had been injured or something. He was here to check on me even though he had absolutely no obligation to. I regret calling him in the first place now. I could have saved him all of this trouble.

"Baylee." How many times had he said my name tonight? Even with the anxiousness in his voice, he made it sound good.

"I'm sorry." I was spewing before I even knew what I was apologizing for. I didn't even have time to blink before he threw his arms around me and pulled me into his warm chest. The action triggered something because before I knew it, I was full on sobbing.

I didn't necessarily know why I was crying but it wasn't stopping. I had hiccupped a few times but Jacob never moved. I felt one of his brushing softly through my hair but he never said anything.

I felt like everything was just piling up on me. Like nothing had been in my favor my whole life. Realistically I knew that wasn't necessarily true but it still felt like everything was just piling up on me and burying me. I tried so hard to move on with my life and start fresh and new. I wasn't that girl from Everett who let her boyfriend treat her like dirt. I wasn't that girl from Everett who spent two days rotting in a jail cell with pending domestic battery and assault charges. I wasn't that girl from Everett who spent the night in her car for days because I had no where to go.

I had grown. I had moved on. I had saved enough money to get my fucking life together. I wanted so badly to be that girl from Forks who was just living a normal life. I wanted to be that girl from Forks who worked two jobs and had a stable life. But it felt like fate or God or whatever bullshit controlled life didn't want that for me. Like I was meant to be dealt the short end of the stick for the rest of my life.

I must have stopped crying at some point because I felt Jacob pull back slightly but he still kept his arms around me. I glanced up him and his eyes held so much concern, it brought back my original guilt of calling him. I glanced back down quickly and noticed his shirt had a large wet mark and some black smudges from my makeup.

Oh god, I'm sure I looked like a drowned raccoon.

I took a step back out of his embrace and turned around. "I'm sorry." I mumbled again and made my way to the bathroom to clear my face up.

"Stop apologizing." His voice was so strong it stopped me in my tracks, making me half turn back towards him. "You have nothing to apologize for." I couldn't tell if he looked angry, concerned, or like he wanted to fight someone.

His gaze did soften when it landed on me but I quickly looked away again. I turned back towards the bathroom, determined to clean my face up. I wasn't wrong in saying I looked like a drowned raccoon either. The makeup around my eyes was so smudged it looked like bad Halloween makeup. I had streaks of black going down my cheeks and smudges of black sporadically placed around my face. Some was even on my forehead. I wanted a shower but I was far too lazy for that right now. I settled for grabbing a makeup remover towel and wiping my face off. I also realized I was in the same clothes from work; the ones that supposedly made me smell like I had been drinking. Just the thought of that made my eyes prick with tears again but I refused to let them fall. I noticed Jacob had moved to stand in the middle of my apartment, looking around, before he sat on the edge of my beat up couch. It looked too small for him. I half wondered how much space he would take up in a bed but quickly cast that thought away. I didn't need to be thinking about shit like that right now.

Though, thinking about Jacob was much better than thinking about how shitty my life was right now…

I finished cleaning my face of all black smudges and made my way to change. I glanced around at all my clothes, not really seeing anything. My mind felt like it was just going blank. I ended up in a pair of athletic looking shorts and a hoodie. I made my way back out to Jacob, who was just staring at me. I made my way over to him, not really sure what I was doing. I stood in front of him, but he didn't give me time to second-guess any of my actions. He reached out and grabbed one of the sleeves pulling me towards him. I put my knee on the couch and fell into his side with his arm going around me again. He leaned back bringing me with him.

In any other situation, I would probably be freaking out. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea or think I'm leading him on. I didn't even know how to collect my thoughts most of the time around Jacob. But this felt so right that I wasn't going to worry about it. Besides, my brain was hardly working properly right now. In the back of my mind, I wondered what time it was.

I thought he was going to open his mouth to say something but it stayed silent. Miles made his way over and did a few circles in front of Jacob's feet before finally laying down. I tucked my legs under me and made myself comfortable.

He was so warm. Like, obscenely warm. Maybe I should have been concerned about it, and I'm sure if my brain was working I would have been, but right now it just felt perfect against me. I was so warm and comfortable and for the first time all night, I felt safe. My nerves were finally calming down. I don't know how long we stayed like that, unmoving. It was long enough for me to start dozing a little because before I knew it Jacob was whispering my name.

I sat up and pushed my hair out of the way, meeting his eyes. He didn't look as concerned this time but his stare was so strong I borderline felt uncomfortable. It was like he was looking into my soul.

"Are you okay now?" He asked quietly and I finally had a second to think about it. Was I okay now? I felt a hell of a lot better than I did when he first got here, that's for sure. I finally nodded and looked down at my hands. "What happened exactly?" I could feel his breath and something in me snapped making me stand up.

"I was… I don't know. I was closing up and leaving work when he pulled me over…" And it was like a floodgate opened. My brain may not have been working earlier and maybe it still wasn't working but the words were just pouring out of my mouth. I ended up going to the kitchen to get a glass of water mid story.

I told him everything. From the freaky thing in the woods, to the cop being an asshole to me the first time, to the incident tonight, Miles going insane at something outside. All of it. I did leave out the nasty details of Nick. I left him with a vague backstory about that when talking about my first trip to the Forks police department. But he never questioned anything or interrupted. Just let me talk until I could talk anymore.

At some point I had sat back down on the couch but on the other end. I had leaned back against the arm and put my feet up on the couch, bending my knees. Sometime during my story he had grabbed my legs and straightened them out over his lap and rested a hand on my ankle. And once again, I didn't think twice about it. His hand was warm and felt good on my skin.

By the time I was done, I was sure he was going to make a comment about me being crazy or just having a bad day. Something to just brush it off but he surprised me.

"So here's what we are going to do," He started off, his thumb slightly moving in circles on my ankle. "Tomorrow we'll go talk to Charlie and get the ticket removed from your record and see what we can do about filing an official complaint on this bastard."

We? Complaint?

"I don't want to start any…fights or issues or whatever." I frowned. He leaned his head back on the back of the couch and turned it to look at me. He had a small frown on his face too.

"That's hardly causing a fight. The bastard was toying with you. That's not right. He already had it out for you."

"Just because he wouldn't help me the first time doesn't mean he has it out for me." I told him.

"Why the hell are you defending this guy?" His frown was turning into a glare again. He did have a point though. Why was I defending this guy? I knew it was because as great as his idea was, I didn't want to deal with the ramifications of it. What if they brushed it off and the whole police force decided to make my life a living hell? Brothers having each other's back and shit like that. Regardless, I didn't have an answer for him.

"Look," His voice was quieter this time. "I get that you don't want to make waves but Charlie is family and he'll get it. He wouldn't let something like that happen if he had any say in it. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I'll make sure of it." And he did sound so sure. "As for what you saw in the forest, I'm sure you're just overreacting. It was most likely an animal that was just as scared of you as you were of it." Now he didn't sound as sure of himself but I wasn't going to question him. I just nodded slightly and looked down at my nails. "So get some sleep and we'll deal with it tomorrow when it's a new day." He patted my ankle.

I reached over and grabbed my phone that had been sitting on the small coffee table. It was 4:30 in the morning. Seeing the time just made me more exhausted than I already was.

"Is it cool if I crash on your couch?" He asked and I nodded. I pulled my legs out of his lap and stood up. He followed me and grabbed his car keys that were sitting on the table as well. "I'm going to grab a change of clothes." He said and I nodded again, heading towards my bed. I put my phone on the charger and glanced over when Miles followed me into the room, knowing it was time to go to bed.

The thought of asking Jacob if he wanted to sleep in the bed with me flashed across my mind but left just as fast as it came. While I had been comfortable with him all night, I knew that wasn't going to make me comfortable. I felt terrible making him sleep on the tiny couch though, knowing he wouldn't fit and there is no way it was going to be comfortable. I heard him come back inside, locking the door behind him. He made his way to the bathroom while I leaned against the doorframe to my room.

Never in a million years did I ever think Jacob Black would be sleeping in my apartment, yet here we were.

Life was weird.

He came back out in a pair of basketball shorts and a cut off shirt. I had never seem him so casual before. It suited him. I also realized I was staring.

"This looks good here." He chuckled looking down at the dog figuring that was sitting on an end table on the one side of the couch. It was the first non-stressful comment made all night and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's my new favorite." I smiled and he smiled back. I could feel my cheeks heating up so I quickly turned back to my room.

"The light switch is on the lamp. I'll grab you a pillow and a blanket." I muttered to him. But he shook his head.

"I'll take a pillow but don't worry about the blanket." Who didn't sleep with a blanket? Even if I was sweating I still liked one. It was a security thing. I grabbed on of the extra pillows off my bed before bringing it back out to him. "If you need anything, just yell." Was I being an okay host? Should I have brought him a blanket anyways?

"Got it." He plopped back down on the couch. "Get some sleep, Baylee." He said in that softer tone again and I nodded.

"Goodnight." I told him before finally crawling into bed.

"Goodnight Baylee. Sleep well." I could still hear him perfectly from my room. Miles jumped up onto the bed with me. I heard shuffling from the living room before the light switched off, making the whole apartment dark. I just hopped I was going to get some sort of sleep tonight.

I don't know who long I laid there but eventually I started to drift off with thoughts of Jacob Black filling my mind.

* * *

Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons


	13. Chapter 13

Waking up was a strange experience. For a split second, it felt like waking up any other day…until everything from the night before came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. I quickly sat up when I remembered Jacob had slept on my couch. I could see out into the living room but didn't see him on the couch at all. It dawned on me that Miles wasn't in the room with me either. I threw the blanket off of me and stood up. What time was it?

I used my fingers to try and comb my hair as best as I could. I made my way out to the rest of the apartment and didn't see Jacob or my dog anywhere. His car keys, wallet, and phone were sitting in the middle of the coffee table so I'm assuming he was still here. I felt like I should have been more concerned about it but for some reason, I wasn't worried. Or my brain still wasn't working properly. I used the opportunity to use the restroom and try to make myself look a little more presentable. When I was done, Jacob and Miles were still missing. I finally decided to go look for them myself and grabbed a pair of moccasins that were sitting by the door. I slipped them on and made my way outside.

Jacob was a ways down the small block but still visible with Miles sniffing at a tree. I made my way towards him, wrapping my arms around myself. Coming out in the cold Fall weather with shorts on and no jacket probably wasn't the smartest move on my part.

"Hey, sorry!" He shouted when I got a little closer. "I figured Miles needed to go out and I didn't want to wake you."

"That's okay. What time is it?" I asked running a hand through my hair again. I noticed Miles was not attached to the leash that was dangling from Jacob's hand. I frowned involuntarily. It wasn't the first time I've had him off the leash. Usually he hangs around wherever I am but occasionally he'll take off. What if he runs into the forest? I don't think my nerves could handle that right now.

"A little after eleven. I figured you could use all the sleep you could get. Charlie is expecting us around 12:30, just so you know."

I had forgotten about that. I'm sure my frown got even deeper. He was looking down at me, like he was studying me. I quickly looked back towards the ground, not wanting to meet his stare. "You gotta do it, B." My head snapped back to his.

"Don't _fucking_ call me that." I practically growled at him and I saw his eyes widen.

It was silent for a moment. "Sorry." He still looked surprised. The awful silence carried on between us.

"Sorry." I finally mumbled, parroting him. I looked down at the ground before I turned to look at Miles. "I just don't like that nickname." It wasn't necessarily a name so much as a letter but still… I don't understand why it was such a common shortening of my name. Bay, I understood. But why just the first letter? I'd never think to just call him J. Jay. Jake, would probably be the only winning nickname for him actually. He hadn't responded. Needless to say, I had soured the mood completely. I sighed and looked back down at the ground.

"I guess I'll go get ready then. When did you talk to him?" I asked, referring to Charlie.

"This morning." He tuned back to Miles who was slowly inching towards the forest. The air around us was still awkward and uncomfortable. "Hey, get out of there!" He called out towards the dog that was putting a paw into the tree line. Miles instantly put his head up and started trotting back towards Jacob. Why doesn't he listen to me like that?! I thought about cracking a joke about him being a dog whisperer but the air between us was still too awkward. I knew my delivery of the joke probably would have made everything even more awkward too.

I glanced back and forth between the two of them and sighed. Miles seemed fine with him. I turned around to go get ready, not knowing what else to say. Had I ruined things between us? I didn't mean too but that nickname just brought up a lot of unwanted memories. Nick had called me that all the time and I didn't want to be brought back to that time. Realistically I already knew Jacob wasn't even remotely similar to Nick but it just seemed like a small jab to the soul. Like a small reminder of all my mistakes.

Speaking of mistakes, I hoped I wasn't making one today. My reaction to last night's events was incredibly embarrassing and looking back, I regretted getting Jacob involved in it. I should have dealt with it better than I had. I just somehow felt like all of this was going to come back and bite me in the ass. Like this was going to be a useless complaint and now the cop was going to make my life a living hell.

I also regretted saying as much as I did to Jacob last night. I had avoided a lot of details but I still wasn't happy he knew as much as he did. I had told him that my ex was a bad guy and we currently had a no contact order between us that he had violated. I was forever grateful that Jacob didn't ask for any details but that didn't mean he couldn't ask some other time. And now I was supposed to go talk to a chief of police? What if he pulled up my record and showed Jacob? As much as I didn't really want to admit it, Jacob was my only real friend here at the moment and I didn't want to lose that.

Maybe that's why I was so upset about him hinting at things like a date or flirting. If things went sour, and knowing myself they most likely would, I would be left with nothing. He didn't deserve someone like me so the most we could ever be is friends.

If I was using that logic though, friends shared information about their lives with one another. So if he was my friend, then didn't he have a right to know about my past relationship? Probably. Did I want him knowing that information? Fuck no, I didn't. We could be friends without him knowing all the gory details. He already knew it wasn't a happy relationship and that was enough for me.

He said Charlie was practically family though. So if he really wanted to know, wouldn't this guy have information about me he could just show Jacob? Maybe he's already been curious and asked about it. Who knows what Charlie has already talked to him about? Even though the charges were dropped it still made me feel like trash. I mean, I had a fucking mug shot. It's not like a cop wouldn't be able to pull that information up in seconds.

I froze thinking about that. Did this prick of an officer know that information when he pulled me over last night? I'm assuming he ran my plates and pulled up my information. I knew all that information still had to be there. There was no way that it would have been expunged off my record when it was only a year or so ago. I couldn't even think straight now, knowing that this prick knew all my history. I felt the strong need to call my lawyer. I knew he wouldn't be able to do anything for me but I felt violated somehow.

"Baylee." Jacob said softly from next me but I jumped anyway. "Are you okay?" He asked and I realized I had never left. We were still in the same spot with Miles moseying around us.

"I change my mind." I looked up at him. "I don't want to make a complaint or anything." I watched as his eyebrows pinched together and he frowned.

It was quiet for a moment before he finally asked, "Why?"

"I just…" What was I supposed to tell him? That I was scared, nervous, embarrassed? I didn't even know exactly what I was feeling but I knew it wasn't anything good. It's not like I was going to give him all the details of my past right then and there to justify my fears. "I just don't see this working out in my favor." I finally settled on a reason. I glanced back up at him and he looked almost annoyed.

"Really? The guy obviously was trying to rattle you and you think _you're_ the one who's going to get in trouble?" He definitely sounded annoyed.

"I didn't say I was afraid of getting in trouble. But I have had a bad experience with the police and now that I'm thinking with a clear head," That was a lie. "I just don't think it's worth it to file a formal complaint." I was surprised I had been able to piece coherent thoughts together.

"Well I think that's bullshit." He finally spoke and I could feel my eyebrows shoot up without me thinking twice about it.

"Excuse me?" I voiced before my brain could catch up.

"I think you're just making excuses." He shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Like this wasn't my livelihood on the line.

I scoffed. "What the hell do you know?"

"I know that Charlie is a good man and wouldn't buy into any bullshit and you have a real case so I don't know what your problem is to be honest." He explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And maybe it was. I didn't know anything about him and realistically he didn't know anything about me completely. I had the worst experience with the police…however, maybe he had a great experience with them…?

But was I going to let someone telling me they were great color my impression? It was like reading a bad yelp review and thinking that was the only thing to live by. The only people who complained were the ones who only had bad experiences, right? I didn't want to be a hypocrite but I also knew what I lived through.

"You don't know what the hell I've been through." I finally spoke after yet another moment of silence between us.

"What?" He was confused. I didn't blame him for that. I wasn't really enjoying the way I had been acting all morning.

"I have had a horrible experience with the police. I don't want to put myself through anything like that again. I just don't see a complaint being worth it." I did my best to explain. I felt like no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't going to be able to put what I was feeling into words with him. I was willing to try though. "You can think I'm just being overdramatic or something silly like that but I'm telling you I'm not. I was traumatized by what I've been through which is why I reacted so poorly last night. I just…don't like the police. I tried to give it a second chance when I went about the no contact order and was shot down again. So I'm just asking you, as a friend, to please drop it." I took a deep breath and waited for his response. His gaze was so intense, I once again felt like he was looking straight into my soul. But I also felt like he wasn't judging me, which was a relief. I don't know what I was expecting his response to be. Wouldn't anybody be naturally curious about my statements? I wouldn't blame him but I knew I wasn't really ready to go into details.

"Okay." He finally spoke.

"Okay? That's it?" It seemed a little too good to be true.

He let out a sigh after a moment. "Yes. Okay. What do you want me to say?" He shrugged and crossed his arms. "You obviously are upset about it and I'm not going to force you to do anything that you don't want to. So if you don't feel comfortable doing it, I'll tell Charlie never mind."

I felt like my brain wasn't really catching up to his words. Or I was just waiting for a 'but…' at the end of his speech.

"And that's it?" I clarified and he looked equally confused as he did annoyed.

"What do you mean, 'that's it?'"

"You're not pissed off or going to snap at me?"

The half annoyed expression on his face was replaced with one of confusion. "Why would I snap at you?"

I let out a humorless laugh. "Uh, because you just wasted a night coddling me while I panicked over something stupid." Which was true.

"First of all, I didn't waste my night being here. I was more than happy to come over and help you out. And I wasn't coddling you. You were upset and I came to help. That's what friends do, Baylee." He rolled his eyes. "And, if you were that upset by it obviously it wasn't stupid. Stop trying to play it off. You're allowed to be upset about stuff. You just said you've had a bad experience with the police in the past, so of course you'd be upset over this. You keep making it sound like I'm blaming you for this when I'm not." He ranted. I opened my mouth to argue but quickly shut it, realizing that wouldn't do either of us any good. He let out a sigh before turning and walking towards me and back to the apartment.

"You're freezing. Let's go back inside." He put an around my shoulders and half guided me back to the door. I was about to make a snarky remark about him putting his arm around me but the heat coming off of his skin felt amazing.

"Why are you always so warm?" I asked while leaning into him.

"It's because I'm so hot." He smirked down at me making me roll my eyes.

"Right. Whatever you have to keep telling yourself." I muttered and he chuckled, shaking me a bit.

"Come on, just admit I'm good looking." I was happy that he had managed to lift the mood back up. I was afraid it was going to be dark and awkward until he left. Which now that we weren't going to go talk to Charlie, I assumed would be relatively soon.

"Over my dead body." I tried to push him slightly but it was like trying to push a wall.

"You're so cynical." He teased back. I glanced down when Miles appeared in front of us by the door.

"So what are you going to do for the rest of the day?" I asked him as we went back inside.

"I don't know. Probably mess around in the garage. Or get together with the guys. Want to come over for a bit?" He asked and even though the idea flashed through my head I shook my head no.

"I'm just going to have a lazy day and hang out with _my_ boy." I reached down to pat Miles a couple of times who just stuck his tongue out at me.

"You going to be okay?" He asked with that concerned voice again. I wanted to be annoyed at him for doting on me but it was difficult when I knew he genuinely cared. I didn't understand why he did but I knew in my head that he did and I wasn't going to question it.

I nodded and headed back inside to get out of the cold with him following behind. I instantly went to my room to find a sweater or hoodie, though I wasn't nearly as cold as I had been. Jacob's oddly hot body temperature helped with that.

I plopped down on the one end of the couch and tucked my legs under me. Miles jumped up and occupied the rest of the space.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" He questioned again making me roll my eyes. He was tucking his wallet and phone in his pockets.

"Yes. I'll be fine. No more panic attacks or crying. I promise." I put a hand up in a scout's honor. He reached out and grabbed my hand. I thought he was going to pull me up off the couch but he just held it.

"Will you call me if you change your mind or get upset again?" I could barely pay attention to what he was saying because my stomach felt like it was doing somersaults. I moved a few of my fingers to rub across the back of his hand. His hand seemed almost warmer than his body.

"Seriously, you're burning." I looked up at him and he didn't look too concerned. "Maybe you're catching a fever from standing outside without a jacket all the time." This time it was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Like you were just doing five minutes ago?" He shot back and I frowned.

"I'm just saying you feel like you're getting feverish." I moved my hand out of his and put it on his forearm, which was also insanely hot.

"I feel fine, Baylee." He slowly pulled his arm away from me and crossed them over his chest.

"Sorry for caring." I couldn't stop the sarcasm from spilling out of my mouth. "I just don't want to get sick right now." I defended and he snorted before I was even done talking.

"Sure." He mumbled and took a step back. I frowned up at him while he just stared at me. I don't know how long we stayed like that before his phone dinging in his pocket broke the tension. I let out a sigh and reached over to pet Miles while he pulled his phone out.

"I gotta go. Call me if you need to." He mumbled. He leaned down and for a second I slightly panicked he was going to…I don't know what I thought he was going to do but I still panicked in my head. He reached over and rubbed Miles' face before patting him on the head and standing up again.

"Thank you. For coming over and everything." I didn't want him to leave with this weird tension between us. How was it that we went from horrible to great to crappy all in a ten-minute span of time?

"You don't have to thank me." He waved me off before grabbing his car keys and heading for the door.

I felt weird because there was a part of me that wanted him to stay. I was almost mad at myself for letting myself get sucked into him. Wasn't that his whole end game in the first place? To wear me down until I just caved? I didn't know who I hated more, him or me, because it seemed to be working. Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent in moderations of self-loathing and thoughts of Jacob.

* * *

On The Brightside by Never Shout Never


	14. Chapter 14

The next few days had gone by without much drama, thankfully. I worked both places and was having a good couple of day's, money wise. Jacob had texted me later the night that he left asking how I was doing and we had been texting constantly about nothing really interesting since then. A lot of small talk or talk about his cars. It was weird to be constantly looking down at my phone waiting for a notification. I once again felt like I was a middle school child waiting for her crush to text back. That seemed to be a theme for me lately.

At the same time, it felt nice to talk to someone all the time. He was working really hard to get the crappy Mazda he bought put together because he thought he could sell it quick.

"Some douchey frat guy will probably buy it for more than it's worth" He had texted which made me laugh. I did learn it was his first time working on a car like this. He usually did older cars or just maintenance work. This was his first time starting from scratch and rebuilding everything from the ground up, interior, motor, and everything. He had told me to come hang out with him while he was working on it and I was planning on doing so on my next day off. He told me I could bring Miles, so that was the real selling point for me.

He hadn't been to the bar lately either and I had to admit that I kind of missed him around. It was a feeling I did not enjoy but I couldn't really help it. It was like this weird pull constantly in head. Maybe it was because I didn't have a healthy personality? It would be no surprise to me if someone told me I had an addictive personality. It's partially why I didn't mess around with drugs anymore.

So maybe I was becoming addicted to Jacob Black…

I sure as hell hoped not but that's where it felt like this was going. If so, I was in trouble.

"Are you okay?" My coworker Megan asked. She was serving and with only a few tables, bored out of her mind. She was leaning against the service well of my bar staring at me. "You look like you're on another planet." She laughed.  
I blinked before shrugging and leaning against the other side of the well. "Just tired, I suppose."

"Right." She nodded but it was obvious she didn't believe me. "Well the guy at my 31 is so creepy I've been avoiding them at all costs. He keeps trying to make eye contact while I stand over here. Not going to happen, buddy." She ranted. I looked over at her table and laughed.

"You can keep trying to look over here all you want dude. Until I can go to the table without you staring at my chest, I ain't getting you an extra ranch." She turned around to make herself look busy and I got stuck with the guy. The guy put his hand up and flagged me down. I wanted so badly to roll my eyes but I couldn't so I left the bar and made my way over.

"Hey, can you bring me another ranch here, honey?" Don't call me honey. And stop looking me up and down like I'm a piece of meat.

"Sure." I turned and made my way to the kitchen. With it being a slow morning, there weren't many people working today. "Can I get a side of ranch?" I asked one of the cooks and turned to lean against the counter, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

"Here you go." He pushed it towards me on the counter and I glanced over at it.

"Thanks." I shouted over my shoulder and looked down at my phone again. I was in the middle of texting Jacob back when the cook behind me interrupted me.

"Didn't you need a ranch?" He asked and I turned and put my elbows down on the counter so I could see him better through the heaters.

"Yeah, but I'm in no rush to get it to this table so he can wait until I finish this text." I picked my phone back up and he started laughing. Megan rounded the corner then.

"Can I get a fucking ranch for this fucking piece of shit table." She yelled.

"It's right here." I pushed the ranch towards her.

"Are they that bad?" The cook asked and I nodded while Megan went on a giant rant about them. I laughed before pocketing my phone and heading back out the bar while Megan followed me with the ranch. When I rounded the corner I noticed two new people were sitting at the bar and I hoped they weren't sitting there long while I was in the kitchen.

When I rounded the corner of the bar to face them I faltered a bit for two reasons. Both of them were inhumanly gorgeous and both looked so young there was no fucking way they were of age. Maybe I'd get the satisfaction of telling two supermodels that you had to be 21 to sit at the bar.

"Hi, can I grab you something to drink?" I put two napkins down in front of them.

"What would you recommend?" The girl asked in the daintiest voice. I almost snorted in her face. Almost. There is no way someone could be that perfect.

Also, I hate when people ask that question. I don't know what your taste buds are like so how the hell am I supposed to know what you like? Again, I was in the wrong business.

"Rainier is on special right now." Using the specials is always an easy cop out.

"Sure, I'll have that." She smiled and I wondered how much money she spent to get her teeth that perfect. Cosmetic surgery isn't cheap. Or so I've heard.

"Same." He finally spoke and _goddamn_ he was a good-looking man. He had a cocky grin on his face that was killing me.

"Can I see an I.D.?" I asked and I was SO ready to try to find the fakeness in their I.D.s or watch them falter when they go 'Oh, I forgot it.'

Unfortunately for me, he handed me a driver's license but I noticed she pulled out a passport and I was instantly deflated. Passports were next to impossible to fake, which meant she actually was of age. Sure enough both of them were freshly 21. I did notice they had the same last names. I also happen to notice the wedding ring when I handed her passport back and I wanted to laugh.

Married at 21? Give me a break. Could they even drink at their wedding?

I turned around to go pour their beer when Megan rounded behind the bar and went to the computer that was a few seats down from the couple. A beer ticket started printing a few seconds later.

"This guy is really testing all the patience I don't poses right now." She muttered and turned around to me. "Like would ever think to go out in public and just stare at a guy's package?"

"You mean you don't do that?" I asked with a smile and she rolled her eyes. I put the two beers down in front of the young couple. "Do you want to put any appetizers in?" I asked and they both shook their head.

"No, we are just waiting for our car to get out of the shop." He answered and I nodded before putting their two beers in the computer.

Megan ran her beer to the creepy guy and walked back over to lean against the well so I walked down to the end of the bar and leaned against it with her.

"That guy has to be the best looking man on the planet." She mumbled nodding towards the couple at the bar who had their heads tucked together obviously talking privately.

"Hardly a man. Just turned 21." I said quietly back and she laughed.

"Like you have room to talk. You're only two years older than them!" She crossed her arms. "Even a five year age gap isn't that big. I could do it. I'd climb him like a fucking jungle gym." I busted out laughing. "Shit, I'd probably climb her too." She added.

"Why not both at the same time?" I asked and she faked a gasped.

"I like the way you think."

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" I ask because I had heard her talk about him before.

"Minor detail, right now." She waved me off and I laughed again. "Oh, better idea! Threesome with Kevin." She added.

"So are you taking the guy or girl with you?" Both of us were quietly laughing.

"The guy. Kevin doesn't need to see another girl naked while I'm there."

"I'm sure the guy at your 31 would like to join." I joked and she gagged.

"You couldn't give me enough money to sleep with that guy." She went back to ignoring them, or more specifically him.

"So who are you taking?" She asked and I shrugged.

"Well I would need a third so I guess both. I don't know if I could get over being the only one not married though. Maybe we could turn it into a polygamous relationship."

"You don't have a boyfriend?" She asked, almost confused. It reminded me of the guys at the bar a while ago who also thought I was lying when I said I didn't have a boyfriend.

"Uh…no."

"You hesitated." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"No boyfriend" I said with a little more confidence.

"Right. But there is someone." She wasn't asking.

"Sure." I shrugged. "A good friend."

"A good friend to sleep with or…? Come on, I need more detail than that."

"Haven't slept together yet." I didn't want to go into a full report of Jacob and I's relationship because there wasn't even a relationship to begin with. And I didn't know if I wanted one. There was a friendship there that much was obvious. And an attraction on both ends but it was complicated. I didn't know what was going on in my head half the time so how I was supposed to communicate that to him if _I_ couldn't even understand it.

"Yet. So it'll happen." She shrugged like there weren't ten billion things going on inside my head. Yet? Did I say yet? Fuck. Girl talk was hard.

"We'll see."

"So why no relationship? Too early?" She carried on with her interrogation.

"I was in a bad relationship in the past. I figured I needed a break before I can even think of getting back in to another." I gave her the spark notes version.

"How long ago was that?"

"Over a year now. Give or Take." I think this was the most I've ever talked to a coworker, let alone another girl about girl things.

"That's long enough. How bad could it have been?" She leaned more in the well.

"Bad." I shook my head.

"Oh…OH!" She frowned when I didn't say anything else. I'm assuming she's thinking along the right lines of how things went but I wasn't willing to offer details of that. "Yikes…"

"It was a long time ago. I'm working to get past it. Which is why I'm taking my time." I was surprised at how much I was sharing with her. My phone vibrating in my back pocket pulled me out of my thoughts.

'About to trash this Mazda. This sucks. How's work?' Jacob had sent me. This isn't the first time he's complained about this car to me via text. Pretty much every time he's working on it or working on getting a part he gets mad. I found it comical. I put my phone underneath the bar rail so it wasn't visible to guests and texted back.

'The poor Mazda. Slow. Boring. The usual.' It wasn't much but it's how we had been the last few days. I saw the three dancing dots appear on my screen right away meaning he was in the middle of responding.

'What time are you off?' He asked and I told him 5. I only had two more hours left and then I was free. 'Come over after work. Keep me company while I debate on destroying this car.'

I thought about it. Did I really want to spend my evening with company? Usually I'd love to go home and just crash in my pajamas and watching something silly on tv, all cuddled up with Miles. However, I did still feel bad about the whole cop complaint fiasco. I really shouldn't be rude and avoid him.

'Need to go home and change first.' I sent back, making my decision. I could always go for a little and then leave. Nobody was forcing me to hang out and be social.

'And pick up your boy' He responded and I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face even if I tried. The fact that Jacob enjoyed dogs, especially Miles, as much as I did was so impactful to me. Miles was my best friend and my guy and Jacob acknowledging that was incredibly attractive to me.

'Yes!' I sent back with a bunch of dog face emojis before pocketing my phone.

I looked up to see Megan in the process of cashing the creepy guy and his friends out as another table sat down. I glanced down the bar rail to see if the supermodel couple needed another round but they were nursing the heck out of the two beers they had. I also made awkward eye contact with the chick before we both turned to look away at the same time. I had the feeling this was going to be a long couple of hours before I could leave. How was it that a minute ago I was practically talking myself out of this and now I'm beyond giddy? I was giving myself whiplash.

It had been a long time since I felt anything like this as far as a guy was concerned. I was constantly feeling like a middle school child because that was the last time I had anyone flirt with me. I had met Nick so long ago and so young that I never had to flirt or had anyone really flirt with me. Even things with Zack that one time didn't really involve much effort on both of our parts. Hell, he never even really flirted with me. We just sat down to talk one day while Nick was treating us both like garbage and one thing led to another.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to casual flirting. It pretty much comes with the job. But fake flirting with a sixty year old man just for shits and giggles is very different than someone actually looking to get to know me. Which brings me back to my original dilemma of not _wanting_ anyone to get to know me. Wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose of a fresh start? I don't think I've ever thought so hard on one thing before. I was starting to give myself a headache.

With a sigh I pushed myself off of the wall by the service well and decided to distract myself with cleaning the bar. I could probably kill at least an hour with that. I walked over to grab a wet rag out of the bucket next to the register when a phone ringing distracted me. At first I thought it was mine because we had the same generic ringtone but I quickly realized it was the supermodel chick's that was sitting on the bar.

"Uh oh." I heard her tell him and she flashed the phone in his direction. He looked half annoyed and half amused.

"Excuse me. We'll take the bill whenever you have a moment, please." He said in my direction. The guy even spoke like he was out of this world. I wanted to snort but held it in.

"Yeah, of course!" I said in my obviously fake serving voice and swiped my card on the computer to print their seven-dollar check for two beers they haven't even finished. I had noticed the girl answer the phone and looked a little unsure of herself which was an odd look coming from someone who seemed so put together. She got up and made her way outside after squeezing his shoulder. I folded their check and put it down in front of the guy who was pulling his wallet out.

"Thank you for everything." He flashed me a million dollar smile and I was hit with the reminder of Megan saying she'd climb him like a jungle gym. I didn't know whether to be hot and bothered or laugh. "Keep the change." He put a twenty down.

"Are you sure?" I double-checked. Did he know he put down a twenty and not a ten? Was I an idiot for questioning it and not just taking the money and running? Probably.

"Of course. Thank you." He looked amused again before following his 'wife' out the door. As he was leaving though he passed by Megan who was leaning against the wall leading to the kitchen who looked like she was about to chase after him.

"Goddamn, it should be illegal to look that good." She continued to watch him while she walked backwards to me.

"True. But not my type." I agreed leaning against the wall with her.

"Uh, excuse me? What?" She laughed and looked offended. "Then what's your type?"

"He's too….skinny. Like, I'd need some more meat on him." I tried to explain.

"What?" She started laughing.

"Like, I don't want to feel like I'm crushing him if I was on top." I summarized. I know I never really had many girlfriends in my life but talking kind of raunchy with Megan was actually pretty fun. She never seemed to judge anything coming out of my mouth. And the look she was giving me while laughing made me laugh too. "What? I'm tall. There's a lot of weight here." I gestured to myself while she laughed even more.

"That's funny. I get it, I get it. Nobody said you had to be on top." She smirked and I silently hoped nobody was listening in on our conversation.

"Now where's the fun in that?" I smirked back.

Realistically I was somewhat lying through my teeth but it was fun being cheeky and making jokes with her. I hadn't had sex in over a year now and by the end of our relationship Nick and I's sex was hardly enjoyable. I couldn't even tell you the last time I was actually on top…or the last time I actually wanted to have sex with Nick. Thinking about that time in my life was bringing my mood down so rapidly it was miserable. Funny how I hadn't had to deal with him in a long time and he still managed to ruin my day.

"I'm tired of getting sat. Do you want to pick up a table?" Megan broke me from my thoughts by gesturing to the group of four hipsters that had just sat themselves at one of her tables.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure." I mumbled. I walked over to grab menus but a constant vibrating in my pocket distracted me. I tried to pull my phone out on the sly to see who was calling.

Jacob.

I frowned down and hit the decline button before pocketing it again. I barely managed to get a drink order for this table Megan pawned off on me before my phone was buzzing with a text. I went behind the bar and pulled it our yet again.

'Are you ok?' He had sent.

Was I okay from what? I was confused, to say the least. So he called me to check if I was okay? Did we even know each other like that? Maybe he thought he was talking to someone else.

'Ok from what?' I sent back, confused and now a little annoyed. He knew I was working, so why call?

A few moments passed with no response, which caused my annoyance to grow. Okay from what?! Fortunately I didn't have a lot of time to ponder on it because I was distracted by work again. I tried not to look at my phone for the rest of my shift but I couldn't stop myself from randomly checking it but he never responded.

After I had clocked out and was walking out to my car I decided to text him again.

'Seriously? What was that about?' I sent before unlocking my car and climbing in. Before I could even get settled and back out of the parking spot my phone dinged.

'Heard there was an accident up by you. Just checking. When are you coming over?'

I reread it several times trying to formulate a response in my head. I didn't know if I found his concern sweet or weird. Maybe I thought it was weird because nobody had ever showed me concern like that? Was this how normal friends acted and I just wasn't normal? I looked back down at my phone and sighed. I was probably a bad friend for originally thinking his concern was weird.

Why he was so interested was beyond me at this point.

'Just got off work so probably in like 2 hours' I sent back and threw my phone in the cup holder.

I spent the whole drive home thinking about all my past friendships. I didn't have many and I was sure that all of them weren't very normal. This left me with little room to decide if I was actually a bad friend or just surrounded by bad people. Nick didn't really hang out with very many people either so I couldn't use that to judge. Not that I would want to use Nick as a judge of character.

I was surprised when I was pulling in to my place. I hardly remembered actually driving. The thought of Miles happily greeting me managed to pull me from my moderate self-loathing.

And sure enough, Miles did not disappoint me. He was wagging his tail so hard his butt was starting to shake and his tongue started hanging out. It was hard to think poorly of yourself when a face like his was just staring back so happy. I took him out and went back inside to change into comfier clothes before we jumped back in the car.

I was pretty spot on when I told Jacob two hours because all too soon I found myself pulling up to the curb of his home. I wondered how this was going to go. We had been texting a lot but the last time I actually saw him was slightly awkward. He had never brought up anything about that awful night again. I was curious as to what he ended up telling Charlie but didn't have the courage to ask. I hoped none of that past awkward-ness would rub off onto today.

I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it though because Miles was itching to get out of the car. He started scratching at the door.

"Okay! Okay! Don't ruin the car!" I could barely reach over his body to open the passenger door. He bounced out the second he had enough room to and took off. I'm sure I looked like a mess while I scrambled to get out of the drivers seat to chase after him.

"Hey!" I shouted following him to the back. I heard his bark, which made me pick up my pace.

"Hey big guy! Where's your momma?" I heard Jacob before I saw him. I rounded the corner to see Miles standing up and jumping on Jake while he rubbed his face. I felt a little out of breath and I didn't know if it was from chasing after Miles or from the sight of Jacob petting my dog looking beyond handsome. He was covered in grime and grease but still looked like some sort of god. It was hardly fair.

"Hey!" He greeted me with a big smile. I was still struggling for air.

"Hi." I squeaked out.

I wasn't prepared when he stopped petting Miles and took a giant step towards me and wrapped me in his arms. I couldn't stop myself from wrapping my arms around his torso, even if I tried. I could feel the heat coming off of him even through the hoodie I was wearing. It was oddly comforting.

Is this how friends greeted each other?

Was it normal to hold on for this long? Probably not. But it felt too good to let go.

And seriously, this guy was like a walking space heater. He didn't seem too concerned about it so I figured I should probably stop mentioning it. But should I mention that he still hasn't let go of me? That might seem a little hypocritical since I also haven't let go. Fuck, we were treading into dangerous territory here.

We were both pulled from whatever witchcraft was keeping us under some spell by Miles barking at something at the edge of the tree line. However before I could gather my wits enough to yell for him, Jacob already had. And naturally, Miles happily obeyed.

"How do you do that?" I tried glaring at him but I'm sure it wasn't very intimidating.

"Do what?" He asked. It dawned on me that we hadn't really let go of each other, just pulled back a little. With a weird cough I forced myself to take a step back from him and drop my arms. I instantly felt the cold through my sweater.

"Just say something and make him instantly listen? I have to yell like, three times before he even acknowledges that I spoke." I crossed my arms to try and get that warm feeling back. Jacob chuckled and bent down to pet Miles who had trotted back over towards us.

"I guess I just have a way with dogs." He sounded smug. It made me feel like I was missing some inside joke. He stood back up and his tone changed so much so that I felt like I had missed half of a nonexistent conversation. "How was work?" He was too serious for my liking. This goes back to the whole 'were we on this level of friendship for you to be _this_ concerned over my wellbeing?'

"Uh…" I stuttered not knowing why he was so serious. "Fine? I made a little more than I thought I would because this server, Megan, got annoyed at all of her tables and gave them to me." I rattled on. He probably had no idea what I was talking about but his serious expression made me want to ramble some more. "She's hysterical. She is probably the last person who should be in the hospitality business. She hates everyone." Why was I still talking?

Jacob blinked at me and I was mad that I still couldn't read his face. He just looked so serious. I thought about asking him about his texts asking if I was okay but decided against it. I settled for, "How's the Mazda?" Subject changes were my specialty.

He let out a sigh before turning back towards the garage. "I kinda regret buying it. A little more work than I thought it would be."

I turned and looked at the shell of a car and raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't think this would be a lot of work?" Seriously, you could hardly even tell that it was a car at all.

"I knew it would be but it's not as easy finding parts. Should have just bought an American car. At least I have parts for those just laying around." He sounded different when he was talking about cars, I noted. I could tell he absolutely loved working with them. I wished I enjoyed going to work that much. Damn.

"So how far are you?" I asked though I don't know why since the car was so dismantled.

"Here, I'll show you." He turned to head in towards the garage while I followed. He started talking about parts and tools he needed but everything he was saying was going over my head. It sounded like he needed a lot still. But he seemed more than happy to talk about it.

I ended up sitting on what looked like the beat up back seat of the Mazda in front of me.

"I'm boring you." He leaned against a work tabled filled with tools.

"No!" I protested. "I just don't understand anything you're telling me." I laughed. He smiled brightly which just made me want to smile.

"Then I'll just have to teach you."

"Good luck with that." I snorted. "I know that a car has four wheels and you can honk the horn. That's about as far as that goes. You should already know that." After all, he had already fixed my car once.

"How is your car doing?" He asked turning to grab some tools.

"Fine. Hasn't been making any noises. Could probably use a good wash though." I shrugged. There was no doubt a lot of dog hair floating around all the seats.

"I've got a vacuum if you need one?" He said as he wiped his hands on a nasty looking rag. Again, doesn't that defeat the purpose of wiping your hands in general?

"I might take you up on that. I've got a lot of dog hair in there. And a lot of my hair since apparently I shed as much as Miles does."

"I used to have long hair and I would just find strands of it everywhere." He chuckled while I tried to picture him with long hair.

"No way. I can't picture you with anything other than the hair you have now." Who knows though? Man buns are in now.

"My hair at 16 was probably a little shorter than yours is now." He said and I looked down at my hair that had a slight kink in it from the ponytail it was in earlier.

"Bullshit." I laughed. I wonder if he braided it or styled it. "Did you ever curl it?" I teased.

His brows pinched together. "No." He scoffed. "I never did anything to it. I barely brushed it back then." He was in the middle of pulling some weird metal thing from a box and taking all the packaging off.

"So what made you cut it all off?" I asked, curious.

"You just get older and realize it gets in the way. Pretty common for younger kids on the rez to have longer hair." He started playing with something under the hood and I lost sight of his face.

"Is that a native American thing? Long hair?" I asked.

"I suppose. Different tribes believe it symbolizes different things. Some turn your first hair cut into a ritual of sorts." He explained.

"A ritual? For what?"

"Well it could be separating yourself from the past. Or the loss of a loved one. Serves as a reminder of your loss. There are a bunch of different things."

"Interesting. Guys with long hair are in right now. Man buns are all the trend. You should grow it out again." We laughed and I leaned back in the seat, getting comfortable. Miles was hanging out at the entrance to the garage sniffing the ground while I thought over his words. It made me realize I knew nothing about his culture or where he came from.

"So exactly how big is the reservation?" If I was going to be his friend then shouldn't I know things like this? I feel like constantly asking myself questions like this just proved that I was in fact, a bad friend. I wanted to know all about him but wanted him to know nothing of my past. How hypocritical.

"Not very big actually. It used to stretch the coast but things change and here we are. Only a few square miles now."

"You guys should take back what is yours." I leaned forward and put my chin in my hand. "Fight the man." He laughed and I couldn't stop the smile from crawling on my face. I had the thought that I wanted to make him laugh more.

"Right. History doesn't seem to agree with that statement." He still had a smile on his face before he disappeared under the hood again. "Plus it doesn't help that the Makah tribe up north has been causing a little trouble with us." His voice was a little muffled.

"Trouble how?"

"Not too sure all the details since I've only heard my dad talk about it in passing. Mainly about tribe practices and fishing territories. Rumors are going around that they are thinking about taking it to court. Crazy, right?"

"You can teach a man to fish and he'll eat…no, you can catch a man a fish…Shit never mind." I plopped back in the seat. He stood up straight with another smile on his face.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." He was chuckling while I let out a huff.

"You knew what I meant." I crossed my arms and looked away from his handsomely distracting face. "So who would go to court for a whole tribe?"

"Don't know anything like that but if I had to guess the council would get together and find some legal representation or something like that." He shrugged.

"Council?" I asked. I felt like I knew nothing.

"Yeah. We have a council of elders that watch over the people. Kind of like being self-governed. They are the highest form of power out here. My dad's on it." He explained.

"Wow. That's pretty cool. That must make you like royalty or something." I teased him and he rolled his eyes.

"Hardly." He had one of those shit-eating grins on his face that made me feel like I was missing the punch line to my own joke. I was starting to notice that he wore that expression often. I didn't like feeling out of the dark this much.

"I feel like there is so much to learn." I pulled my legs up onto the seat with me to get comfy.

"Well I would be happy to teach you. My dad would too. He loves telling the stories of our ancestors. We usually have bonfires and retell the stories when the weather is nicer. I'd be more than happy to bring you to the next one." His smile grew the more he spoke.

"Is that what you say to all the pretty girls?" I laughed before I could think too much about what I had just said. I was still just teasing him.

He opened his mouth to respond but quickly shut it before he could get a word out. His smile shrank a bit. I felt horrible for bringing the mood down.

"The last girl I brought with me ended up with someone else." He finally said and went back to whatever it was he was doing under the hood.

"Ouch. Did she cheat?" I asked. I probably shouldn't be prying, especially when I'm not willing to give any information in return, but I was too curious to know what kind of girls he dated. I wondered what she looked like.

"No. We were never together technically. She just used me to get over her shitty boyfriend who left and then when he came back into the picture she went back to him and got married. That was a long time ago." He never came up from under the hood while he spoke. I was reminded of the couple today that were both wearing rings. Maybe it was a bit more normal around smaller towns to marry young? I still thought it was a little weird but I guess I didn't really have any room to judge.

"Like an emotional crutch. Well, regardless of if you were together or not, still pretty crappy to ditch someone completely for someone else." I shrugged. "Is she still around?"

He let out a snort and stood up straight. He looked over at me and I felt like he was checking me out even though I was curled up. Not even the hot kind of checking out, just like he was generally looking to see if I was okay. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Unfortunately. I just snapped at her a few hours ago actually for not minding her own business."

So not only was she still in the picture but he still had contact with her. I could almost physically feel the red flags going up in my head. I had enough baggage and trouble to last me a lifetime. I didn't need to be bringing someone else's baggage into my already shit storm of a life.

All I could really do was nod and look over at Miles who had laid down at the front of the garage and was staring into space.

"But there are absolutely no feelings on my part anymore." He added. I nodded again, not knowing why he felt the need to add that bit of information. And he did specifically say on his part. What about hers? I didn't need to get into a crazy weird love triangle.

"Hey, you do you." I shrugged again and he _once again_ wiped his hands on a dirty towel. I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "That towel is disgusting and wiping your hands on it is doing absolutely nothing. Get a new towel."

He glanced down and started laughing. "It's more about just getting the big chunks of grease off than actually cleaning my hands."

"Ew."

"What's the matter? Don't like to get dirty?" He snickered. Did he just make a bad sex joke?

"No, can't say I'd enjoy being covered in grease all day." He smiled and threw the towel on one of his benches. He started to tell some story about playing in the mud when he was younger but he was interrupted by Miles jumping up and letting out a string of barks. He started to take off toward the tree line.

"Hey!" I jumped up yelling to go chase after him. I made it just far enough to watch him jump into the tree line and disappear. "Miles!" I shouted again. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my anxiety skyrocket.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll grab him. Wait here." He walked towards the trees. He sounded so calm.

"Wait, no!" He turned around and looked at me. I was instantly hit with the memory of those eyes staring back at me from the shadows. His eyes seemed so intense in that moment that I was reminded of that night, so much so that I had to look away.

"I'll be fine Baylee. I know these woods like the back of my hand." He turned and continued to walk to the trees while shouting for Miles. I couldn't bring myself to stop him or say anything about the growing darkness. I was still stuck thinking about his eyes.

Or the eyes from that night in the forest.

"What's all this noise?" I heard a voice say from the house. I turned around and could make out a man sitting on the porch by the front door to the home. I didn't have much time to think about it. A bark from somewhere in the woods had me whipping back around to look into the trees. My mind started racing again with all the horrible possibilities. What if Miles got attacked by something? What if he just ran away and got lost? What if he ends up getting hit by a car on some back road because he's all alone and wondering? I felt like I wanted to vomit.

"Everything alright?" The voice behind me said a bit louder this time and I was torn on what to do. I could ignore the guy and continue to wallow in my anxiety or I could make my way over and answer him. Actually, maybe he could help somehow.

"My dog took off into the trees." I made my way towards the porch and realized the man was in a wheelchair. This must be his father. "Jacob went after him." I glanced back over my shoulder hoping to see something to calm my nerves.

"They should be okay. Jake will grab 'em." He seemed so confident about it. I will admit it somewhat helped calm my nerves. "That boy knows these forests by heart." He added with a tiny smile.

"Funny. He said the same thing." I mumbled. What would cause someone to spend so much time on unmarked trails? Another bark had my attention back to the trees but what really had my heart rate becoming painful in my chest was the loud howl echoing off of everything. There was no way my dog made that noise and my imagination immediately pictured everything awful.

"Oh god." I mumbled while grabbing my hair. I could feel tears coming to my eyes. "My boy." I could feel the man staring at me but that was the least of my concerns.

"He'll be okay. The wolves around here are friendly." I could barely hear the guy.

"He's not a wolf. He's a dog." A wild animal vs. a domestic house pet. He wouldn't stand a chance. That howl was so loud too it must mean that one was close.

"What's his name?" The man asked but I wasn't really paying attention.

"Huh?" I turned back towards him.

"Your pups name." He still seemed so calm.

"Oh. Uh, Miles." I crossed my arms when a small breeze blew by. A rustling from the trees had my head snapping in that direction until seconds later my dog came bursting through and running straight towards me.

"Oh thank goodness." I bent down as he nearly tackled me, clearly in the mood to play. His tail was wagging and his tongue started to fall out of his mouth. He let out a bark while jumping around me.

I was going to have to start keeping him on a leash. I couldn't handle this anxiety anymore. I was trying to get a hold on him to hug the hell out of him when I noticed Jacob walking up to us. He looked perfectly put together like he hadn't just taken a trip through the middle of the woods. He was also smiling but he looked like he wanted to laugh at something.

"He was fine. He just wanted to play." He stood next to me. More like towered over me since I was still on the ground with the dog. He looked back up at his dad. "Sorry for the noise." His dad just nodded and I was taken back to what he just said.

"Play with what?" I could feel my anxiety going up again.

"Uh, probably just a rabbit or something." He shrugged.

"He's a beautiful dog." The man from the porch spoke. Before I had time to comprehend the compliment Jacob was speaking again.

"Dad, this is Baylee. Baylee this is my dad." The man leaned against the rail of the porch and stuck his hand out. I stood up, not wanting to let go of Miles but not wanting to be rude, and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Black." I tried to smile but I doubt that's what it looked like.

"Oh please. Call me Billy. Are you alright? You're shaking like a leaf." He had such a calm and collected air about him. I was reminded of Jake saying he was part of the council and figured I should try to get my act together.

"I'm okay, just a bit shaken up. Thank you for the concern though." I tried to be as polite as possible.

"Of course. Why don't you and Miles come inside and grab something warm to drink. That should calm your nerves a bit." He remembered my dogs name and even invited this giant hair ball into his home. I was flattered but I also didn't want to impose. I knew Miles left a trail of hair wherever he went and didn't want to bring that into their home.

"Thank you for the offer but I couldn't possibly impose like that." Who the fuck was I right now? I can't even remember the last time I've spoken so politely to anyone. Not even at work. It was like I was doing everything in my power to make sure this man thought highly of me, and I didn't even know him.

"I insist. Jake, go grab something warm for this poor girl. She's going to freeze out here." He instructed his son before looking back towards me. "Come on in. It's not everyday my son brings a pretty girl over here." I knew he was teasing but I could feel my face heating up a bit.

"Har har, old man." Jake grumbled from behind us. Miles took no time in making his decision and bouncing up the porch steps.

"Hey!" I scolded him. He was acting like he owned the place and I didn't even know if this guy liked dogs.

"He's absolutely fine. Maybe this home could use a companion dog." He smiled and I noticed it was the same exact expression Jake has when he's laughing at something that I clearly am not apart of.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt two warm hands on my shoulders. "Sorry," Jacob came up behind me and I could feel the heat rolling off of him. "You should warm up a bit." He squeezed my shoulders lightly and led me towards the steps. My body obeyed before my brain could catch up and I found myself being led into his home behind his father and my dog.

This is not at all how I pictured tonight going…

* * *

All Along The Watchtower (Live) (Cover) by Dave Mathews Band.


	15. Chapter 15

"Look at that little dog. It's wearing a sweater." I gestured to the woman and her small sweater-clad dog on the trail about ten feet from us. A puff of smoke in my face distracted me from the little fur-baby and made me look at the person who blew it.

"I bet it's one of those yippy dogs that won't shut up. Those things bug the shit out of me. That bitch down the street has one and I swear to fucking god all I ever hear at night is her piece of shit dog barking." Nick rolled his eyes and took another drag from the cigarette in his hand.

"I think it's little sweater makes up for that." I turned to look back at the dog but they had just left my line of vision. I sighed and hopped off the picnic tabletop to sit across from Nick on the bench. I wished I had brought something to entertain myself with while we waited but my phone battery was on its last leg of life and I didn't want to waste it playing some stupid game.

"Where the fuck is he?" Nick mumbled mostly to himself while half rolling his eyes, pulling his phone out.

"You can't be surprised, he's always late." It was my turn to roll my eyes. Zack had the nasty habit of always being late. Nick was notorious for that too so I didn't understand why'd he always get so mad at Zack for it. Seemed a bit hypocritical, but what do I know?

"If he didn't get enough, I'm going to fucking murder him." He growled and stuffed the butt of the cigarette out on the table before carelessly throwing it behind him. We were sitting at a table in Howarth park waiting for Zack to meet us with some grass. I was already annoyed at the whole situation in general but chose not to make a comment about it. Nick was in an awful mood and I didn't feel like having him take it out on me. I already knew Zack was going to get some hell from Nick. Better him than me.

Nick's dealer got busted about a week ago and everyone Nick was trying to get in contact with wasn't responding so he had to rely on Zack to go to his dealer and buy in bulk. Nick tried to contact Zack's dealer himself but the guy claimed he wasn't an actual 'dealer' and only helped 'friends' out occasionally.

I knew he was lying. That was the easiest blow off for 'I don't like/trust you so I don't want to sell to you'. And because of all of that, here I sat at a picnic table in a very _public_ park waiting for Zack to get here with a cranky Nick. Because I had to drive, naturally.

"I still don't understand why you couldn't just ask your mom if she knew anyone who sold." He muttered. I turned to glare at him.

"Because Nick. You know I don't like being around her more than necessary." I crossed my arms and looked away from him. "Besides, I thought you didn't like me going over there either. Stan should be in jail, the way he looks at underage girls." I shuddered at the thought. Stan was my mother's current boyfriend. I didn't think he was going to last since she always seems to have a new flavor of the month but Stan had stuck it out so far. They had been together for about half a year now. It's the longest relationship I've ever seen her in.

I wasn't exaggerating either. The guy was a creepy fucking old man who we honestly believe is a pedophile. Nick had hated him the few times they've met. Nick, being so righteous (sarcasm), thought he deserved to be beat to hell for being into 'kiddies'. You know you suck when the low lives around you even think you're garbage. (Yes, I'd put myself in the low life category too). My mother, of course, chose to ignore this horrid fact about him. I almost hope she's just honest to god _that_ stupid and doesn't know rather than her ignoring it. I wonder if she's ever seen him jacking it to kiddie porn. The thought made me want to vomit.

"Stan is a fucking freak. But your mom's got dealers, B. Who's she buying from?" Nick was getting fidgety. I sighed and reached across the table to grab one of his hands.

"I don't know. It's not like we talk. You _know_ how I feel about being around her." And he couldn't feign ignorance on the topic. He knew very well how I felt about my mother.

He turned his hand upside down and squeezed my hand that was resting on his. "Yeah, I know. Sorry." He muttered. His other hand came over and rested on my arm. "When's the last time you two spoke?"

"When I texted her to ask about my birth certificate." I was trying to open and new bank account and needed a bunch of paperwork. I knew she had my birth certificate and social security card. It took her a whole day to respond to me and even then she pretended like she didn't know where they were. What kind of mother doesn't know that? I ended up breaking into her home when I knew she wasn't home to grab all of them. "She tried asking how I was doing after the fact but I ignored her."

Nick nodded and started to move his fingers on my arm, tracing random patterns on my skin. At least he was keeping his hands busy.

"I remember you talking about it now. You were heated when you came home from work." He let out a small chuckle.

He wasn't wrong. I was on a warpath for a while after that conversation with her.

I would admit, though, I was very hurt over it. I knew she was a horrible human being and an even worse mother. I never had high expectations of her growing up. I learned to fend for myself very young. But no matter how old I got, I would always be hurt by the fact that my mother didn't seem to care about me. Maybe she did, in her own fucked up way, but I never felt it.

For the longest time I thought she was mentally unwell. My young ignorant brain figured medication would be able to change her and maybe then she'd suddenly care about me. But the older I got the more I realized it was more than that. She was an addict and no amount of medication would be able to solve the downward spiral she made of her life. She was never going to get better until she stopped using.

And birds of a feather flock together. Her company was other addicts. Between her so-called friends, lovers, and boyfriends, our hole in the wall home was a revolving door of people. I grew up with absolutely no stability or any sort of schedule. I didn't even make it on time to school most days.

I suppose her only saving grace was that she somehow managed to keep a roof over our head. I should be grateful too that she never hit me. I snorted at the thought. Was I really going to praise my mother for not hitting her own child?

But none of that mattered now. I had managed to get my own life together. Nick's mom let me move in and I had a job that let me bring cash home every shift. And while Nick acted like an ass half the time, he still supported me and let me bitch about my mom or life whenever I was frustrated.

And it was moments like this that I adored. I almost hoped Zack would never show up so we could just carry on in this little bubble we had created. He was still drawing small patterns on my skin while I stared at my hands.

"I lost you for a second." I looked up to see him smirking at me. "What are you thinking about so hard?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Life. How suck-y my mom was to me."

"Fuck her." He rolled his eyes and squeezed my arm a bit. "She's a horrible mom. You're way better than she can ever imagine being. Besides, she did something good for us. She practically made you move in with me." He smiled.

"Oh yeah?" His smile was pretty contagious. "How so?"

"Because you couldn't stand to live with her for one more day and I couldn't stand you being so far away." He seemed so smug. He looked pretty handsome.

"I wasn't that far." I giggled at him. Really, mom mother's house was one town over from his.

"I like having you close to me."

"You're sweet." I reached over with my free arm and grabbed his hand.

"I'm so lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have you too." I sat up in my seat and leaned across the table. "I love you."

"I love you too, B." We shared a sweet kiss before my legs couldn't hold me anymore and I plopped back down.

"I'm happy that-"

"About fucking time!" Nick interrupted me looking towards the trail leading to the parking lot. Zack was making his way towards up with his hood up. I wanted to roll my eyes at him. Eye rolling seemed to be the theme for today. Could he look anymore like a drug dealer?

"Calm the fuck down, bro." Zack came and sat next to Nick at the table. "What's up, Baylee?" He nodded in my direction.

"Hi Zack." I probably sounded a little bitterer than I needed to be. But Nick and I were having a cute moment and now it was back to reality. I turned my head and looked around at all the greenery surrounding us while Nick and Zack talked about their own greens. I wasn't particularly interested in what kind of strand it was or how sticky the new stuff his dealer got was. I was most likely going to try it out the second we got home. Or if Nick was feeling anxious, probably in the car on the way home. I hated when he lit up in my car though.

"So what happened to your guy?" Zack asked him and I could see Nick's mood just plummet, as if he wasn't already in a bad mood.

"The guy is a fucking idiot. He got busted fucking drifting in his piece of shit Mazda and he kept his whole fucking supply in the car. Got reckless driving, intent to sell, and enough weed on his for a fucking felony. Who the fuck lets their own stupid ass get busted? Don't keep that shit in your car, dude." Nick ranted.

"Fucking moron." Zack chimed in. "Finding someone new to trust to is a fucking bitch and a half."

"I know. B here won't talk to her mom and figure out who her dealer is too." He gestured towards me and I felt my frown deepen even more. I opened my mouth to remind him that he was just talking about how horrible my mother was but I was cut off before any words came out by Zack laughing.

"Shit, your mom does more than just smoke. She'd probably give you her heroine dealer or something." And now both of them were laughing.

"Shut the fuck up Zack. You're not cute." I glared and him and he threw his hands up.

"Yo, calm down B. It was a fucking joke."

"Yeah Bay. Lighten up." Nick joined in, shaking his head while I glared at him.

"Weren't you just talking shit about her a few minutes ago?" I snapped.

"She sucks. So what? I still need a dealer." We were now glaring at each other.

"Fine. You know what? Here." I pulled my phone back out and threw it across the table at him with a loud clatter. "You can text her then." I crossed my arms. Nick picked up my phone but didn't make a move to unlock it. "And maybe you should get a ride home with Zack." A part of me felt like crying but a bigger part of me was turning more and more livid. I sat and stared at him. More like glared.

"Whoa, leave me out of this." Zack said putting his hands up again but neither of us acknowledged that he even spoke.

"Are you really going to make a big scene over your drug addict of a mother?" He snorted. I wanted to make a crack about how he was calling her a drug addict while he had enough weed in his hoodie right now to border on a felony but I held my tongue on that.

"Are _you_ really going to make a big scene over my drug addict of a mother?" I mocked and he rolled his eyes. I shook my head and swung my leg off of the picnic bench we were on. "I don't care. Do whatever you want. I'm out of here." I started to walk away from the table. I could hear them saying something to each other but I ignored it and kept walking down the trail. I was halfway to the car when I heard, "C'mon B." behind me. I turned my head to see Nick but kept walking.

"No, fuck you." I said loud enough for him to hear but kept walking. I immediately heard him pick up his pace before I felt a hand wrap around my arm seconds later.

"Baylee. I'm sorry, okay?" I spun around to face him.

"Really? You're going to sit there and listen to me talk about how much I hate my mother and then say shit like that?" I demanded. His shoulders slouched and he looked away from me.

"Baylee. I know. Okay? I know. Shit's fucked up." He rambled. "But I don't know why you're mad. I know your mom is horrible bitch and she's the worst mother in the history of mothers. You didn't deserve anything that happened to you. You know that and I know that. I'm sorry I said all of that. I was in a moment and didn't mean it."

"A moment? Really?" I continued to glare at him.

"B. You know I've been fucking upset since Ty got busted. It's been a fucking process just trying to find someone. You know this! I'm sorry if I'm getting testy but I've been stressed." His one free hand ran through his hair. "And no matter what, you are always my constant. My shining light. And I know that no matter what happens, you're always by my side supporting me. So please, just stand with me." He rambled and I could feel my shoulders slouch a little.

"Nick…"

"B, come one. You know me. You know I'm stressed."

After actually looking at him, I could tell he was very stressed right now. I knew he wasn't himself and realistically I knew he hadn't been himself for a while. Maybe this whole thing with his dealer, Ty, getting busted had been harder on him then I realized. I mean, I didn't buy often. I usally bought off of someone like Zack (mostly as a gift to Nick) so I didn't know what it was like to have an actual dealer. I pretty much just mooched off of either Zack or him or other friends.

"I know. I'm sorry." I muttered while pulling my arm closer to me, effectively pulling him closer too. "Anything with her just makes me mad." I shook my head and I felt his arms wrap around me.

"And it should. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought her up."

This felt right. Everything in this moment felt right. I could feel him kiss the side of my head and I pulled back to look at him.

"Let's get out of here." He smiled at me and I nodded. "Want to grab something to eat on the way home?" He asked.

I couldn't help but smile at the word 'home'. I nodded and grabbed his hand to pull him along.

When we were walking up to the car, I noticed the woman with the cute sweater clad dog coming out from a different trail towards the small parking lot.

"Look, it's the cute little dog in the sweater again." I giggled and gestured towards them.

Nick looked over and snorted. "Right. The little yippy thing." I looked up at him to see him roll his eyes, not as amused as I was.

* * *

Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5


	16. Chapter 16

The Black household ended up being very homey and Billy, who had corrected me every time I called him Mr. Black, was very welcoming and even spent a great deal of time with Miles's head in his lap petting him behind the ears. Miles was in hog heaven I knew, getting that much attention.

We ended up sitting at their dining room table for about an hour afterwards, chatting. Jacob had brought me a plain black hoodie to wear to warm up. I turned it down but both men insisted I wear it so I ended up putting it on. I was swimming in it but didn't want to admit that it felt nice. I also very much didn't want to admit how amazing it smelled. It was that woodsy smell that I'd come to associate with Jake himself. It helped my nerves calm down significantly.

Billy was warm and welcoming and never once did I feel awkward talking to him. He had asked about my jobs and where I was living in Forks. He even explained some basic tribe things to me when Jacob had told him I was interested in learning. He also invited me to the next bonfire they were having where they re-tell all their legends and have a small barbecue. I had mentioned that Jacob had invited me as well and Billy's grin grew tenfold. I now knew where the expression Jake usually got came from; the one where I felt like I was missing the punch line.

However I made things awkward when Billy asked about growing up in Everett. I did not want to talk about those things, especially with someone who despite being so nice was still a stranger to me. I just shrugged and tried to change the subject but I knew it was so obvious that I was uncomfortable. Jacob wore a frown when I had glanced at him but didn't say anything. I almost cried tears of joy when Billy completely changed the subject back to something safe. He described the reservation and all the shops and such in town.

Eventually Billy said his farewells and left us alone to head to bed. It wasn't long after that where I felt like I had very much over stayed my welcome so I left too. Jacob walked me to my car and after saying goodbye to Miles he turned to me.

"I'm sorry you were worried tonight." He had said. I snorted.

"You're really apologizing right now?" I had rolled my eyes, in typical fashion. "If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. I'm sorry I freaked out. But Miles means a lot to me and I'd be heartbroken if something happened to him."

After that he had simply hugged me and told me not to worry about it with a small smile.

It was a rollercoaster of a night for my nerves were completely shattered but it ended out okay. More than okay. However, I did feel a little jittery when I got home. I wasn't used to hanging out with anyone's parent and not feeling weird the whole time. It was a foreign feeling, the comfort of it all. Everything about tonight was foreign. But I fell asleep, with Miles by my side, feeling genuinely happy which was something that hadn't happened in a long time.

That happiness didn't last long. I quickly realized I was scheduled the same time for both jobs when I woke up the next morning. I was kind of at a loss on what to do because I had never been in this situation before. Waking up and checking both schedules immediately put a cloud of stress and anxiety on my whole day. Maybe my nerves were still shot by Miles running away yesterday.

My ideal situation would be to just ignore this and pretend like nothing happened, but I knew that wasn't plausible. This was the part of adulthood I did not sign up for. But I had three days to do something about it. I knew I was blowing the situation out of proportion in my head but it was a snowball effect. I started thinking about calling off and my brain spun it into me losing both jobs and becoming homeless because I couldn't pay my bills. I tried to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of calling off for each job but I felt like the cloud of stress following me was just getting darker and darker.

Even in Everett when I was just serving, I tried my best to never call off. With Nick's sporadic behavior that wasn't always possible, but I didn't enjoy it either way. But this time I didn't have Nick to blame. Just myself.

Realistically it was the brewery's fault that this was happening. They scheduled me out of my availability. And there was a small part in the back of my brain knew that if I just told them that, they would be able to fix it but I still felt like it was my fault. But then if I worked anyway and told Joe I couldn't come in, he'd have to work all day and that didn't seem fair to a man who was paying me under the table and letting me have so much freedom.

My phone buzzing caused me to jump a bit. I glanced down to see Jacob's name with a text.

'Hey. How'd you sleep?' It read.

I blinked down not even sure how to respond. It was such a simple question that threw my mind for a loop. And my brain that was already fried with overthinking didn't know what to do.

'What?' I managed to type and send. Looking at it after it sent, I knew that was absolutely not how I should have responded but my brain wasn't working.

'Huh? What what?' He sent back and I snorted. Maybe his brain wasn't working either. Maybe it hasn't been working this whole time and that's the reason he even started talking to me in the first place.

'What what what?' I sent back with another snort. What was my life? Was this what I considered flirting?

He finally broke the cycle when he responded. 'I asked how you slept and you sent me a question'

'Sorry. Brain isn't working properly.' I sent before throwing my phone across the couch and got up to try and busy myself. Miles followed behind me into the bathroom where he plopped down in the doorway like the ever-faithful guard dog. I decided to curl my hair a bit more than usual just to keep my hands busy for a bit. I was working at Joe's place tonight and would see him in passing. I could explain the situation to him and see what he thought. If I got the vibe that he wanted me to work, then I'd call off the other place.

By the time I was done and had put some makeup on, about an hour had passed and I realized I never responded to Jake. I went to fish my phone out of the couch cushions. Maybe I could ask him what he thought about it? Isn't that what friends did? Bitch to each other about stressful things in their lives? I had to be the most dysfunctional friend if I felt like I needed to second-guess every action.

'That's okay. Lol. Want to grab lunch before you work?' He had replied. Huh… Lunch would give me a perfect excuse to pick his brain on the matter.

'Sure. You pick.' I was suddenly glad I had already gotten ready but I didn't know why. Jacob's already seen me at my worst so I shouldn't have been concerned.

After a bit of time, I found myself sitting in his truck on the way to some restaurant. I didn't know why he insisted on picking me up but he wasn't taking no for an answer. Then he used the excuse that I don't know the area as well as he did. It was almost impossible for me to NOT roll my eyes at that.

"Alright," He turned the radio down a bit so I could hear him better. "This place is a hole in the wall, _but_ the tacos are amazing. So don't judge it too early!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Do you just know all the amazing places around here?"

He smiled and shrugged while we drove out of town. "When it comes to food, I don't mess around."

"Right." I snorted at him before leaning over to poke him in the arm. "Because you're a growing boy."

He laughed again before pulling into a small building that looked like it was falling apart on the outside. The paint was coming off of all the wood and the sign above the door looked like the next small gust of wind was going to take it down. Despite his words, I wasn't going to judge. I learned real fast, especially in the food industry, that places like this always had the best food. That, and food trucks. Always trust food trucks.

"So their salsa is kind of spicy but like I said, the tacos are amazing." We climbed out of the truck and he held the door for me. Inside was almost in the same condition as the outside but I didn't feel gross. If anything, it gave the place more character.

"Hola! You can just sit-oh hey man. I haven't seen you around in a bit." A younger man came around from the back. He saw Jacob and made his way over to shake his hand.

"Yeah, I know. How have you been?" Jacob asked while putting a hand on my back and gently guiding me to a table against the wall.

"Ah, you know. Same shit, different day." He shrugged, half following us to the table. Though, he didn't have to go far since the room wasn't too big. I couldn't help the small snort and smile from forming on my face. I responded the same way to that question.

"Look at you! Bringing lady friends around! So that's what's been keeping you busy!" The guy laughed and turned to me before either of us could even protest. "Name's Ricky. Nice to meet you!" He stuck his hand out. I blinked before taking his hand and smiling at him, completely forgetting what he had already said. The man had some charm to him.

"Baylee. Nice to meet you too. I hear you have great tacos."

He leaned back and looked offended. "Just the tacos? Everything my hermano makes es muy delicioso." He put both his hands on the table and leaned forward. "I'll grab you some chips. What would you like to drink, novio?" He looked at me. I tried racking my brain for all the Spanish I've learned over the years but I was drawing a blank.

"Just a water. Thank you." I smiled at him and he nodded. I noticed he didn't even ask Jake what he wanted.

"I know this kid is going to eat me out of food already. Would you like a menu?" He asked.

"Well I trust your judgment. I'll just get whatever you get." I looked at Jake. He turned to look up at the tanned man.

"Just add a few more to my order."

"You got it, boss." And with that he walked away.

"I take it you eat here often."

"Not that often, but I guess I'm pretty memorable." He had that shit eating grin he's so great at wearing on.

"Of course you are." I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my seat. Ricky came back to drop of the drinks and some chips and salsa.

"So how are you doing after yesterday. I know you were a bit jumpy." He asked, taking a more serious tone before he shoved a few chips in his mouth.

I thought about how to answer him since yesterday seemed so far away in my mind already. So I shrugged and grabbed a chip as well, hoping to keep my hands busy again so I didn't look awkward.

"Better. Miles has been just following me around all day. I really don't know what has gotten into him lately. He's usually fine off the leash. If he wanders it's usually enough where I can at least see him." I took a bite mostly just to shut myself up.

"Well he was fine when I found him. Like I said, just wanted to play. Something must have just caught his attention." He had such an easy breezy attitude that I was kind of jealous of.

"I have your hoodie by the way. I'll wash it tonight and give it back to you." I reminded him. He snorted and waved a hand my way.

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't really fit me anyway." I looked down to see all the chips gone. I had like, what two? I thought about making a comment about it but kept my mouth shut, choosing to argue with him over the hoodie.

"Well regardless, it's still yours." I wasn't going to keep his hoodie like some cute couple dating in high school. Even though it was pretty comfortable. But he didn't need to know that.

"Not a big deal, Baylee." Why'd he have to say my name like that? It wasn't fair. "But I'm glad that you're feeling better."

"Well I am about the Miles situation. I woke up this morning though and found out I was scheduled for both jobs at the same time next week. Don't really know what to do about that."

"Call off of one of them." Ricky walked past the table and swapped out the empty chip bowl with a full one in one fluid movement before walking along. I was stuck wishing I were that graceful.

"Calling off of work stresses me out." I muttered while putting my chin in my hand. I watched, as he wasted no time in digging into the new chip bowl.

"Well you're going to have to talk to one of them and tell them the situation."

"I know. I just don't want to. And I don't know which one I want to call off from. Realistically it would be easier for me to call of the brewery just so I didn't have to drive up there but I'd most likely make more money working their that night. It's like a bad catch-22 or something." I explained. He nodded and finished chewing before talking again.

"I'd call off the place in Port Angeles." He said very matter-of-factly.

"Why?" I asked when he didn't elaborate.

"I don't know. It's too far away. If you don't have to drive up there, then don't do it."

"But I'll most likely make more money there." I told him again.

"That much more that it's going to make or break you?" He raised an eyebrow and I felt myself frown.

"No, obviously not. But wouldn't you take more money even if it was just another twenty dollars?" He wasn't really getting my point.

"I just think it seems like a waste. You shouldn't work that far away to begin with." He had devoured all the chips again. But his comment didn't sit right with me.

"I only work that far away because the money is worth it. Besides, it's only an hour drive and at night I can fly home." Although, ever since the cop incident I haven't really been speeding much at all. Better not test my non-existent luck.

"I don't like you driving that far, that late at night." He leaned back in his seat and stared at me.

"Why?" It was the only word that came to mind.

"Because," I watched as he glanced away from me and hesitated for a second. My brain finally caught up to me so I decided to help him out.

"I'm a big girl. I can handle a hour long drive by myself."

"I never said you couldn't handle it. I just don't like the thought of it." He still was looking anywhere but at me.

"Again, why?" I didn't understand why he cared. I know friends care about each other but it's not like I was putting myself in a dangerous situation.

"What if you break down in the middle of the night or something? I just think you could find another job around here if you're so adamant about working two jobs."

"If I'm adamant about having two jobs? No, I'm adamant about being able to pay my bills and having somewhere to live." I tried my best not to glare at him.

"That's not what I meant." He sighed and leaned forward on the table. He opened his mouth to add more but Ricky appeared with what looked like a mountain of tacos.

"Oh my god." I muttered and Ricky laughed.

"That's what I said the first time!" He put them down with a laugh, and after making sure everything was okay, walked away.

"There is absolutely no way you can eat all of this." I figured I wouldn't eat more than two or three tacos and that left the whole mountain to him.

"Like I said, I'm a growing boy." He teased before digging in. I was reminded of a news story I saw not too long ago about how many calories Michael Phelps eats while he's training and wondered if Jacob was secretly an Olympian. He was already one taco down by the time I was even done thinking about Michael Phelps.

"If you grow anymore you're going to rip out of your clothes like the hulk." I muttered, reaching over to grab a taco for myself.

"Haven't heard _that_ one before." He said sarcastically.

"I'm sure by now you've heard every joke in the book." He wasn't lying about the tacos being delicious. I don't care how delicious they are though; there is no way anyone can eat that many.

Eventually Jacob proved me wrong. He could, in fact, eat that many tacos. And just like I had predicted, I only had a few and he had zero problems finishing off the plate. How he managed to do that on top of the two plates of chips and salsa is equal parts amazing as it is concerning. Where'd all that food go?

However, as distracted as I was by how much food he was consuming, it didn't escape me that we hadn't really said much to each other since the food came. When Ricky stopped by to drop the check down, Jacob didn't miss a beat when reaching for it. My brain naturally thought to protest and offer to split it, but I changed my mind real fast when I thought of the mountain of tacos.

"How can you afford to eat like that?" I asked, not trying to be rude.

"I don't eat out often. Usually my buddies wife cooks for all of us." He shrugged.

"All of you?" She cooked for a bunch of grown men?

"Yeah, the whole p…the whole group of us hangs at their house a lot. She loves to cook and all of us love to eat so their house has kind of turned into a headquarters." He chuckled. I still couldn't really wrap my mind around the concept. It also served as a stark reminder of how different we were. All I could do was nod and pull my purse into my lap. I glanced his way when he let out a loud sigh.

"Look, I didn't mean anything rude by pointing out the two jobs. I get the money thing, I really do. I'm not exactly rolling in it either. But as your friend, because we are friends, right?" He asked and I nodded. "Right. So as your friend I'm going to worry about you. I didn't mean for it to sound like it was about the money." He explained and it was my turn to sigh. I opened my mouth to respond but it dawned on me that I didn't know what to say back to that.

This was my first clear reminder that I was no longer in a situation like the past. Toxic people didn't surround me anymore. I didn't have to constantly defend myself or argue my way through a conversation. And I didn't know how to respond because my usual response would be just to say something to escalate the argument. I honestly didn't know how to respond to someone being mature about a situation and that scared me. Was I that fucked up in the head that I couldn't even act like a civil human being?

"Okay." I managed to spit out, mostly because the silence was becoming awkward.

"Okay." He nodded. I could have jumped across the table and kissed him right there, simply for not making the situation even more awkward by letting that conversation just hang over us. I don't know if he could read my unease or he was just great at making conversation but he carried on like I wasn't sitting there struggling for words.

"So my dad couldn't shut up about you this morning." He let out a small laugh and stood from the table.

"Oh god." I'm sure my face looked horrified. After the mess I was yesterday, I assumed his dad thought I was some crazy broad. "I'm sorry." I finished.

"No! He loved you! He really likes your dog too." He chuckled. I followed his lead as we headed out to his truck after yelling goodbye to Ricky.

"Miles is a little attention whore." I rolled my eyes but I couldn't stop the small smile forming. He may grab all the attention but I still loved him with all my heart.

"How long have you had him?" Jacob asked as we climbed into the car.

"Not that long actually. It'll be about a year here soon." I smiled at him and he nodded. "I rescued him from a shelter just outside of Everett. I'm actually surprised they let him come home with me since I was kind of in between places." I shrugged. I didn't really want to think about those few nights I had to sleep in the car while he was in the back seat. I felt beyond horrible about it but I think that was the kick in the butt I needed. It wasn't just about me anymore. Now I had another living being relying on me and one look at his face and I was hooked. I felt like I couldn't let him down.

"He's a cute dog. I would say you should bring him over more to run around but you'd probably have a heart attack." He laughed lightly and I reached over and slapped him across the chest.

His very large and chiseled chest. Not that I noticed.

"He's usually not that bad off the leash." I frowned a bit. "But ever since he's been barking at something in the trees, it just really freaks me out."

"Maybe it's Bigfoot out there." Jacob smirked but he lost a bit of that mirth he had before.

"Don't. I don't think it's funny and it really freaks me out." I glanced out the window. I noticed he hadn't pulled out of the parking lot.

"I'm sorry." He reached over and pat my knee. "I promise you it's probably nothing as awful as you think it is."

"Even if it's not some weird mythological creature, that doesn't mean it couldn't be like a wolf or something." I leaned against the door and glanced at him. His brows pulled together and he just looked straight ahead.

"You know the wolves in the area aren't aggressive." He still didn't look at me and I suddenly felt a little awkward.

"Aggressive or not, I don't want Miles that close to them." He finally glanced my way but I still couldn't figure out his expression. It was making me frustrated.

"Did you know that there is a legend on the Rez about spirit warriors who can shift into wolves?" His eyes finally lost that dark cloud that was around them but he suddenly looked much older than he actually was.

"I did not."

"They protect the people and the land."

"Protect them from what?" I asked, curious. His small chuckle threw me off a bit. He went from very serious to cool as a cucumber.

"You should come to the next bonfire. You'd be able to hear all about the legends then." He smirked and finally put the truck into drive.

"You don't think that's weird? Like I wouldn't really fit in there." I tried to voice my concern without actually saying what I was thinking.

"Because you're white?" He was blunt about it. At least he said what I was avoiding.

"Yeah." I muttered and he snorted.

"No. And nobody should have any issue with it. Besides, nobody is going to mess with you if I'm around. They'd know better." And somehow I believed him. I sent a small smile his way but he was too busy driving to notice.

"So what time do you work?" He asked while we drove down a winding road.

"In about two hours. I'll probably just ask Joe what he thinks about the double schedule thing." I shrugged.

"Well I still think it would just be easier to call of the other place but if it's stressing you out this much, then it wouldn't hurt to talk to him." He glanced at me before looking back to the road. "What do you do with Miles while you're at work?" He asked and I felt a little bad for my pooch, thinking about it.

"He hangs out at home and I feel pretty bad about it. I don't crate him or anything. He's a good dog. Never chewed or got into anything." I still felt awful about leaving him so much lately. I'm going to have to make an effort to stop doing that so much. Maybe I'll take him for a walk when I get home.

"I could watch him for you so he's not alone so much." He suggested and I was taken back.

"What?" I asked, very confused.

"I just mean, if it bothers you how much he's alone. I wouldn't mind watching him while you work." He was so nonchalant about this.

"I couldn't ask you to do that. It's too much." I shook my head, still mind blown that he even suggested it.

"You didn't ask. I'm offering. It's really no trouble to me." As amazing as his offer was, I would still feel bad putting him out like that. And on top of that, now I felt a little awkward because I didn't want to seem ungrateful but I really couldn't ask that much of him.

"You don't have to feel like you need to do that. I wasn't saying anything to make you feel like you needed to suggest that." I rambled. I'm sure I made no sense.

"Baylee, really. I'm telling you I don't mind. He's a great dog." He was too casual about this. I really didn't know how to react. "It doesn't have to be every time you work. I can grab him a few times a week or something." He went on.

"Are you trying to kidnap my dog?" I blurted because it was the only logical conclusion my brain could come up with. He let out a booming laugh that filled the cab of the truck making me jump a bit.

"No, Baylee. I'm just trying to help you out a bit." He was still laughing.

"I never said I needed help." I muttered probably a little more bitter than I meant it to be.

"I know. But that's what friends do for each other and I thought we already established that we are friends." He rolled his head to look at me with a smile for a second before looking back to the road. I let out a sigh and decided not to argue about it anymore.

"Well then, I'll invite you to take a walk with us when we get back." I offered to him. "You can walk off all those tacos you ate." I laughed a bit and he snorted.

"Are you calling me fat?" He joked.

"Yes. That's exactly what I said." I reached over to pat his stomach. I noted in my head that he literally didn't have an ounce of fat on him. That's hardly fair, especially after that lunch he just had.

"Good thing I have an amazing personality to make up for it." He pat my leg in return and I slapped his hand away. "But sure, I'd love to join you for a walk."

I was kind of nervous for a reason I didn't understand. By the time we got back to my place and grabbed Miles, I was feeling jittery. I didn't understand if it was nerves or spending so much time with him but I couldn't stop it. Jake's easy going personality was calming, I would admit.

I also made sure to hook Miles up to the leash so we didn't have a repeat incident. We casually walked down the road with Miles sniffing at everything he could. It was quiet between Jake and I for a bit while he walked but it wasn't awkward. Eventually one of us made a comment and we just made small talk a bit as we carried on.

"So," He seemed a little nervous all of a sudden. "You never felt like going to school after high school?" And it was such an odd question, I didn't know why he would feel nervous.

"Nah. It's a miracle I made it all the way through high school. And I didn't really have to the money to do so even if I wanted to." I shrugged and pulled Mile away from a wood chip I knew he was thinking about eating. "You?"

"Well, I actually didn't make it through high school." He let out a nervous laugh and I glanced his way. "I had to go back and get my GED a few years ago. I mostly only did it for my dad though." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"School not your thing?" I asked, not judging.

"I missed a lot and just fell behind. I'll spend the rest of my life on the Rez though. I didn't see the big push for it." I nodded at him. I understood, school wasn't exactly for everyone. "But you moved here, right? Ever think of going back?" He asked and it dawned on me how close we were walking together. I tried not to think about it too much.

"To Everett? No. Never." I didn't have to think twice about that.

"No family there?" I know he was just making conversation but I didn't know how much I wanted him to know. But that's what friends did right? Talked to each other about their lives? It's not like I had to give him every gritty detail. So I finally shrugged and told him the truth.

"My mom lives there but we don't have a good relationship. Otherwise, I have an aunt and cousin living in Seattle but that's about it."

"And your dad?" He asked. I thought I already had a frown on my face but he must of saw something that made him back track. "Sorry. I don't mean to be nosey."

"No, it's fine. I haven't seen him since I was like five or something. He left and that was it. I'm pretty sure he's married with kids or something. I've never bothered to care." Somehow talking to him seemed easy. My parents weren't exactly a topic I liked to talk about but he didn't seem like he was judging. "I almost don't blame him for leaving. My mom is…" I didn't even know how to describe her. Anything I could say would still be too nice.

"She's impossible to live with." That was the best I could come up with. He nodded and looked down a bit.

"So no plans to head back to Everett. How about here?" He asked and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't really have any plans right now. It's not like I actively sought out this place. It just happened to be the first place I could get and it was far enough away from that place." I explained. It was also close enough that I could still drive back for court if I needed to, but I wisely left that part out.

"But it still seems like I'm the outsider here. It's like nobody leaves small towns. Like a black hole or something." I chuckled and he nodded.

"You're not wrong. Almost everyone I know is born and raised here. My sisters left and that was shocking for a bit back on the rez. Broke my dad's heart for a bit."

"Just wanted to get out?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Rachel left to go to school but came back because she fell in love with Paul." He rolled his eyes at that and I couldn't help but snicker. He sounded so bitter. "They were the ones you met." He added and I thought about correcting him but didn't want to insult his family. We didn't exactly meet. They stared at me while Paul glared me down before leaving. "And then my other sister got married and moved to Hawaii to be with him. He's some local surfer."

I couldn't stop the small laugh and I even felt a little bad for it. "That's interesting!" I told him.

"Yeah, I guess. She hasn't really come back though and I know it upsets my dad. I don't think Rachel would have come back if it wasn't for Paul."

"Love can change people." I agreed with him. I knew that first hand. And of course he had to point that out.

"Sounds like you know firsthand." Our arms touched a bit and I had to force myself not to jump back. I looked to Miles who was just trotting along.

I didn't really have a great reply for him. He wasn't wrong but getting into the details of Nick was going to bring my mood down a lot and I didn't really feel like thinking about him.

"I guess." I shrugged. "Bad relationship." It was the most I could come up with. He nodded and carried on.

"Were you guys together for a long time?" I know he was just making conversation but I really didn't feel like talking about it. But I also didn't want to be rude. It's not like he knew all the details about it or how it made me feel.

"Uh, a few years." I mumbled. I'm surprised he even heard me correctly.

"That's a long time." He glanced over at me. "Bad breakup?" I couldn't stop the giant snort I let out.

"You could say that." I glared at the ground. He got quiet for a moment and I looked over at him to try and read his facial expression but he looked torn.

"Does it have something to do with your dislike of the police?" He asked a little quieter and I wondered what my face looked like. I was trying to school my expression but I knew I was doing a poor job of it.

The silence stretched on for a bit. Maybe longer than I should have let it. But I couldn't help it. I really didn't know how to answer that. I racked my brain for an answer that didn't really give anything away but it's like my brain was blank.

"Yes." It came out before I could even stop myself. He nodded and I waited for him to keep asking questions but he just looked over to Miles and the silence dragged for a bit. I also realized we had both stopped walking.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He finally glanced my way.

"It's fine." I told him quickly. Miles walked around between both of us, almost like he was waiting for either of us to do something. I reached down and pet his ear for a moment.

"Well whatever happened, I'm glad it did." He said and I looked up at him, surprised. "Because it led you here and it led me to you." I blinked, not expecting him to say something like that. My mind blanked and I completely embarrassed myself before I could stop it. I laughed. Loudly.

I didn't mean to laugh in his face and I really wasn't looking to hurt his feelings but I really didn't know how to react other than to find the humor in it. I mean, he sounded like a really cheesy hallmark card. He frowned and half rolled his eyes before he turned and kept walking.

"Wait no." I reached out and grabbed onto his arm, pulling him to a halt. "I'm sorry." I was still half laughing which didn't make anything I was saying believable. "I am! Really! I promise I'm not laughing at you!" I tried to let the rest of the giggles out before taking a deep breath. "It just sounded so…cheesy." A few more small giggles escaped me and I took another deep breath to calm myself. He still had his eyebrows pulled together a bit but his eyes never left mine.

"I'm sorry." I repeated a little more steady now.

"There is nothing to be sorry about." He finally spoke and maybe it was because I was still holding on to him or because we were so close but I probably could have melted at the sound of his voice. Why was everything about him so alluring?

"Well I am. I didn't mean for it to seem like I was laughing at you." I sounded calm this time. "I just…I guess I'm not really a cheesy person." I poorly explained but he continued to remain quiet. I would flipping love to know what was going through his mind right now? Maybe I was slowly making him realize with every sentence coming out of my mouth that he really didn't have a crush on me. Isn't that what I wanted though? So why was that thought depressing to me?

"It's fine, Baylee." God, I loved the way he said my name. But I didn't really believe him. I didn't want him to say that just because he thought it would make me feel better so finally something snapped in my brain. Maybe he put himself out there a little more than normal and I just laughed in his face for it. I don't know. For all I know I could have really hurt his feelings and that didn't sit well with me. If he was willing to maybe put himself out there a little more than I could be an adult and do the same.

"Look, nobody ever says things like that to me and I'm not exactly the girl guys are dying to flirt with. I don't know how to react. It was like…a panic moment in my brain." I was going to go run a hand through my hair but I realized that my one hand was holding on to the leash and the other was still wrapped around his arm. He was like warmth in human form and I found myself not wanting to step away from it.

He let out a small noise that I couldn't tell if it was a snort or a sigh. He reached over and pushed some of the hair that was falling in my face back and I stood frozen. I'm sure I looked like a deer in some headlights. It was such a…romantic gesture.

"Well I hope, someday, I get to be the one to say all those cheesy things to you." He finally spoke and I was still frozen in place.

"Maybe someday." I whispered back and his eyebrows finally rose. A small smile graced his face and I was actually jealous of how handsome he was. Why was everyone around here so handsome?

"Someday." He smiled back and raised his arm up a bit. I moved to let go of him but he just reached out and grabbed my hand in his and kept walking again, almost pulling me along before I could get my bearings on what just happened.

We were holding hands.

It was such a juvenile gesture that had my mind going a hundred miles per hour. My initial instinct is to pull away from him but he was so warm. And despite the large, somewhat terrified, part of my brain protesting, this felt nice.

"I hope you don't laugh at every cheesy thing I say. I've got a lot of good cheesy lines to use." He was teasing me. I rolled my eyes dramatically and leaned away from him, causing him to pull me back to his side.

"That's fine. I could always use a good laugh." I turned my head up and he laughed.

"I'm glad I'm a source of entertainment for you." He seemed much lighter now and I was happy that, that small moment didn't put a small gray cloud over us. "What time do need to go to work?" He asked and I struggled to hold the leash and pull my phone out to check the time. I was bummed to see I needed to head back so I wasn't running late.

"So would you like me to watch him tonight?" He asked as he bent down to pet Miles when we got back to my place.

"That's okay. I really don't want to put you out or anything." I waved him off.

"Bay, it's really no problem. I'm just going to spend the rest of the night working on the stupid Mazda." He shrugged. "We can hang out in the garage all night." He said to Miles who had his tail wagging like crazy.

"Well I won't get off work until close to midnight." I muttered and he stood up and looked at me, shrugging.

"That's fine. I'll probably be still working on the car. I'm trying to get this stupid thing done as soon as possible." He muttered that last part.

"If you hate it so much, then why'd you buy it in the first place?" I asked chuckling at his reaction. He half shrugged.

"I don't know? A challenge? I almost regret it now. It's something I've never worked with."

"I hope everything works for you then!" I laughed at his frustration. I've seen the car. I know he's not as bad off as he makes himself out to be. But his expressions are too great to pass up.

"So I'll see you at midnight?" He bent down and hugged Miles, who must have been in on the joke because he played his part well. He looked like the happiest dog just standing there and wagging his tail in a gay ole fashion. Could I say no?

"Are you sure?" I begged.

"Yes. I promise." He seemed so sure. I almost couldn't be mad even if I tried.

"Okay!" I agreed. And sure enough, I stood there and watched Miles climb into his car after giving Jake a bag of food and minor instructions to not let him roam to avoid another runaway incident. I climbed into mine and drove to work, trying not to think about it too much.

I knew I would drive down to La Push late at night to get my dog but I wasn't upset about it. If Miles wasn't trapped in an apartment and had someone to interact with then I couldn't be mad. I loved that dog and I only wanted to see him happy. And looking back, I wasn't mad about Jake loving Miles as much as I did. So I carried on going to work. I even talked to Joe about the whole double schedule situation and he was so nice about it that I didn't feel comfortable screwing him over.

It wasn't until I was locking up and walking to my car did I feel my phone buzz. Thinking it was Jake, I pulled it out. I was wrong. Suddenly the monster lurking in the trellises didn't seem so scary.

'Hey. I know it's been a minute but can we talk? Its kind of important' It was from Zack.

I should have put him in the same category as Nick. I really should have. But I guess I thought he was on Nick's side and never would contact me. My heart was pounding no matter how many ways I thought of it. I didn't want to think about it, that was the issue.

* * *

No Man Is An Island by The Script

I greatly apologize. Someone very close to me passed away unexpectedly back in September and it is slightly messing with my headspace. I didn't' edit this at all, nor do I no longer have a timeline. Unfinished work is my enemy so I guarantee you I will do everything in my power to keep typing! I love this place and I love anyone reading this. Thank you!


	17. Chapter 17

I really didn't have much time to think about how I wanted to handle this situation because my phone had started to ring with Zack's name popping up across my screen. I vaguely noted that my hands were shaking.

I tried to rack my brain for all the reasons he could be calling. I haven't spoken to him since that awful night well over a year ago and even then, I didn't exactly have contact much with him leading up to that. Nick had made sure of that. But that had to be the reason he was calling me. Maybe Nick was trying to contact me again and was smart enough not to do it on his own line. Eventually the phone silenced but my ears felt like they were still ringing.

The wind rustling all the trees near the parking lot caused me to jump and I wasted no time in climbing into my car and locking all the doors. My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest and I let out a small scream when my phone started to ring again with the same name popping up. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? I wanted to just throw my phone out the window and never think about any of this ever again but I knew that wasn't possible.

Something in me snapped and I was filled with rage all of a sudden. Why did this still have so much control over how I felt? It's been over a year now and I'm still checking over my shoulder and panicking over anything related to Nick. He shouldn't have this much power over me still. I was doing just fine on my own and I was so fucking proud of it. Using that anger to fuel me, I pressed accept.

"Stop fucking calling me." I glared ahead and before I could put the phone down to hang up, he was screaming my name.

"Baylee! B! Fucking help." He managed to spit out and that stopped me from hanging up.

"What do you want, Zack? You shouldn't even be calling me."

"Fuck, B. I know. I'm fucking sorry. I need help though and…I didn't really know…Fuck." He sounded like he was winded and walking or something. I could almost hear the wind through the phone. "Baylee. I'm so fucking sorry."

"Are you _drunk_?" I asked because that was the only reason I could think of why he would be calling me.

"No. Listen, I'm not in a great place and I need somewhere to stay. It would be for like two days max."

I laughed. He was fucking kidding me right? I put the phone down and hung up. Before I could even put the car in park my phone was ringing again. I put it on silent and headed down the road towards La Push.

It seemed so long ago that Jake and I were walking down the street holding hands. It bugged me that Zack had ruined the rest of my night. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight with how my mind was going. Hopefully seeing Jake and my boy would calm me down a bit, even if it was just for a minute. I could see my phone constantly lighting up in the cup holder but ignored it. I probably should have just turned it off but I didn't dare open my phone now for fear of that garbage cop pulling me over again. Eventually I pulled up to Jacob's house and noticed most of the lights in the house were off but a large flood light was coming out of the garage in the back.

I hoped I wasn't keeping him awake with the dog but I tried to remember how much he insisted that it was okay. I turned the car off and grabbed my keys and phone. I noticed Zack was calling me again and I resisted throwing my phone down the street. I needed to block his number.

I hit the answer button. "Stop calling me." And just like the first time, before I could actually hung up he was calling my name, desperately. I put the phone back up and frowned in the dark.

"Please, Baylee. I'm so fucked right now. I'm literally going to sleep in my car tonight. My face is all fucked up, I'm…I just need one night. I'll leave tomorrow and find somewhere else. I'm fucking desperate and I have no where else to go." He rambled.

"You're delusional if you think I'm going to let that happen. I'm about to block your number."

"Baylee! Fucking please." He sounded like he was crying. I frowned even harder. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm fucking sorry for everything that happened. And if I had any other options, I would but I'm lost. I know you're still in the area and-"

"How the fuck do you know where I am?" I snapped, blood boiling.

"I…Nick said something. I don't know. Something about his lawyer or something. I don't fucking know, B. Please." He sniffled and it still sounded like he was outside. "I just need one night. I work on Wednesday and I just need one night. I'll sleep on the floor, I don't give a fuck."

I thought about telling him all the nights I slept in my car. Or to go fuck himself. But I bit my tongue. I didn't even know why I was still on the phone with him, really.

"Baylee. Please. I just need to clean my face up." He let out a small cough and there was muffled sounds.

"What's wrong with your face?" He made a comment about it already.

"It's pretty fucked up right now." I glanced over when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Jake was making his way around with Miles at his feet. I noticed he wasn't on a leash but my brain couldn't really focus on that right now. I opened my door and climbed out while cradling my phone on my shoulder.

"And you thought of calling me?" I asked again. Jake made his way around my car while Miles jumped up on me. I almost dropped the phone putting my hands out but Jake snapped his fingers at him and he dropped down.

"If I could have called anyone else I would have. I'm literally fucked over here. I…can't be here. I'll even pay you!" He coughed again and I glanced at Jake who was leaning against the front of the car, with a small frown.

"Look, Nick can fucking rot in hell for what he did to you. I should have done something to stop that and if I could go back, I'd make sure none of that happened to you. But I am fucking begging you for just one night. That's all I need." His voice cracked and I wanted to start crying at this situation. I felt like a wild animal backed into a corner or something. Was this one of those fight or flight moments?

"I'll drive to where ever. I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, B. Please." Now he really sounded like he was crying.

"I don't live close." I told him, hoping that was enough for him to change his mind.

"I'll drive anywhere. I'm desperate." He must have really been if he was calling me.

"It's about four hours away on the coast." _Please just say no_ , I was begging in my head.

"That's okay." I heard a car door slam.

"I swear to fucking god Zack…" I muttered shaking my head. I felt very stupid for even letting this get this far.

"I know! I fucking know! I'm sorry! One night!" I wish he didn't sound so bad. It would have helped me out.

"I work tomorrow night. You'll need to be out by then." I kicked a pebble at my feet and glanced over at Jake again who was still wearing the same expression.

"I will. I'm sorry, B. I really am. I don't deserve you." I snorted at that.

"You're right."

"I…Thank you. Fucking thank you. Text me the address." I didn't bother saying anything else and hung up on him.

"Un-fucking-believable." I muttered under my breath while I opened my texts only to see about twenty from him all along the same lines of begging.

"Are you okay?" I jumped at the sound of Jake's voice.

"I don't think so." I pocketed my phone and looked down at Miles. I must not have been okay if I just agreed to that. "But thank you for watching Miles." I carried on before he could say anything else.

"Of course." He was quieter. He pushed off the car and stood in front of me. "You're shaking." He reached for my hands and I looked down at them.

"Huh. Yeah, you're right." The wind picked up a bit but I couldn't feel anything with Jacob standing so close. He pulled on my hands until I was practically standing chest to chest with him. He let go of my hands to wrap his arms around my shoulders pulling me even closer if that was possible. I couldn't help but wrap my arms around his middle and melt into his warmth.

"What's going on?" He asked. I could feel his breath on the top of my head.

"An old…friend needs somewhere to stay." I mumbled into his shirt.

"You didn't seem too happy about it." I could feel his arms tighten a little. He was insanely warm.

"I'm not. I don't really feel comfortable with it." I wanted to melt into him. It was a weird thought but he was so perfectly warm. I no longer felt the cold night air around me. It was just him. He smelled like the forest with a hint of motor oil and just so deliciously him.

"Then why'd you agree?" He almost whispered the question and I let out a humorless sort of snort. I knew he didn't mean it in a judging way but I got that vibe. If he was judging me, I really didn't blame him.

"He was crying. I felt like I couldn't say no." I shrugged as best as I could with his arms on my shoulders.

"I could stay with you." He said so casually, just like everything about him.

"What?" I pulled back to look up at him.

"You said you were uncomfortable. I could stay over if you didn't want to be alone with him." Despite the casual nature of his words, his eyes were dark and hard.

I blinked and thought about what he said. He wasn't wrong in pointing out my lack of comfort in the situation. Would having Jake there really help calm my nerves or would he just make me even more on edge? I knew he made me feel something every time we were together but I wouldn't exactly call it nervousness.

I haven't seen Zack in well over a year. I had no idea what he was like anymore nor how much he knew about what happened that awful night. For all I knew, he still half lived with Nick. I didn't want to be in contact with him if he was still in contact with Nick. It felt dirty. And if just the thought of seeing him was making me this nervous, what was I going to be like when it was just the two of us locked in a small apartment together?

My brain felt like it was jumping topics so much it was giving me whiplash. I was trying to think of all possible ways this could play out but every hypothetical seemed so ridiculous that I wasn't even quite sure what to think anymore.

"I.." I was at a loss of words. I felt bad. I didn't want him to feel like he was obligated to do something like that. "You don't have to." I eventually managed to voice, though I didn't sound as strong as I would have liked to.

"I know I don't have to. I want to. I would never want you to put yourself in a situation where you didn't feel comfortable. Especially in your own home." He looked a little unsure of himself for a second but quickly schooled his features.

I opened my mouth but it was like no words would come out. I tried weighing all my options but all of a sudden I couldn't think of any option where Jake wasn't involved somehow. So I did all I could do and nodded.

"Okay." He nodded back. I instantly felt the chill of the air when he dropped his arms from around me and took a step back. "I'm going to go clean up the garage and grab some things. And then I'll follow you over in my truck. Do you want to wait inside?" He took charge.

"Uh…" I blinked and tried to wrap my brain around the whole situation. "No. No, that's okay. Um…"I was stammering like an idiot. "Just meet me? At my place I mean?" Everything was coming out as a question. I didn't mean it to but I couldn't help it. I'm sure I sounded like a stuttering fool.

"Okay. If you leave now I'll probably be about ten minutes behind you." He nodded to himself but then put his hands on my shoulders. The warmth instantly came back.

"Why are you always so warm?" I blurted out, before my brain could even remotely catch up to what I was saying. I always felt like melting into him. Was that a healthy thought?

"I run a higher temperature. I told you this, already." He smirked but it didn't look real. I've seen his smiles enough to know when one looked fake. At least I _thought_ I knew him like that.

I frowned. "Are you sure you're okay?" I hoped he didn't feel awful and he was just saying all this to make me feel better. I'd feel horrible dragging him all the way to my apartment if he had a fever. I reached up to put my hands on the side of his neck. Seriously, he was beyond warm. It felt great on my cold hands, but he was warmer than someone should naturally be. "You must be running some sort of fever to be this warm. If you don't wa-"

"Baylee." He grabbed my face. "Hush. I'm fine." He squeezed a bit. I'm sure my cheeks looked like a little chipmunks for a second.

"Okay." I mumbled, while he dropped his hands. Maybe I was being too pushy.

"You take Miles and I'll be right behind you guys." He took a step back and headed back towards his garage. Miles took a few steps to follow him before I quickly reacted and grabbed onto his collar.

"Traitor." I mumbled before guiding him back towards my car. But there was something about the way he talked about _us_. Maybe because he didn't make a comment about the dog but that he referred to him as an 'us'? I couldn't place it but it had my stomach in some sort of knot.

I glanced at the time on the dash after I turned the car back on. It was already well after midnight which meant Zack wouldn't even get to my place until damn near dawn. I should have told him no. I should have just rolled my eyes like I normally do and told him to fuck off. Wasn't that how I normally treated people? What was happening to me?

And wasn't it rude that I'm just supposed to stay up all night and wait for him? Not like I was going to be able to sleep anyways but I no longer had the option to. I know he sounded upset and I guess I didn't really know his situation but who was he to put me out? We shouldn't even be speaking in the first place! I felt like I was in a twilight zone.

I sighed before finally pulling away from the curb while Miles plopped himself down and rubbed his nose all up against the passenger side window. When we finally pulled up to my rundown apartment I opened the door and let Miles hop down. His nose instantly went to the floor and he started sniffing around. I thought he was going to look for a spot to pee but his head suddenly snapped up and looked towards the tree-line. I could feel my stomach drop as I was once again reminded of what lurked out there.

"Hey!" I whisper shouted at him and grabbed onto his collar. "Let's go inside." I mumbled and guided him to the front door. He followed along with ease but I got that feeling of being watched again and I didn't like it. I quickly shut the door behind us and let out a big breath. Was I going to spend the rest of my days scared of what might be in the woods at night? It seemed like such a ridiculous notion but I didn't see the feeling going away any time soon.

Feeling drained, I made my way over to the couch and threw myself down. I wasn't ready for any of this to happen. And this gave me some sick sense of deja vu. This wouldn't be the first time one of us had called on each other in need, usually at the result of Nick and his horrid ways. But I certainly planned on making it the last. One of the last times him and I found ourselves in this situation, we ended up in bed together and I was dammed if he was going to get that idea again. It shouldn't have even happened in the first place, let alone multiple times. The only difference being that this time Nick wasn't waiting to serve a punishment because of it. That didn't make it any better though.

And what of Jacob?

Obviously Zack wasn't going to sleep in my room but it felt wrong making him sleep on the floor while Jake took the couch. Especially when I had already seen Jake once hanging off my couch completely. He never said anything but I know that couldn't have been comfortable. The least I could do for his help is offer him my bed. But then where was I going to sleep? _With him._ Some wicked part of my brain thought. Wouldn't that be something? I sighed and rubbed my face a bit before I realized I was probably smearing my eye makeup everywhere. I already looked like a raccoon enough with it on, I didn't need to look like one on a three day bender on top of that.

I stood up and made my way to the bathroom to grab a makeup remover wipe. I must have been sitting on the couch thinking for a lot longer than I thought because the sound of a car outside had me a little spooked before my brain could catch up. I stepped past Miles who stood up to follow me to the door with a wagging tail. I glanced at him with a frown. I had the sneaking suspicion that he liked Jake more than me. I opened the door to see Jake jumping out of his truck with a backpack over his shoulder. Miles shot past me and ran to Jake. He bent down and rubbed his face before looking up at me.

"Hey, how you doing?" He asked quietly and I stepped aside so he could come in.

"Fine." I mumbled. Was I fine? I was going from feeling a thousand emotions at once to nothing. That couldn't be healthy. I jumped a bit when Jacob reached out and pushed some of my hair out of my face.

"Hear anything else?" He asked and I shook my head feeling very small. That itself was a foreign feeling for me. I was always on the taller side and sometimes towered over girls. Even Nick was practically the same height as I was. I knew my dad must have been on the taller side but I haven't seen him since I was a toddler so I couldn't really confirm that thought. Thinking of my dad had me thinking of all the shit I left behind in Everett and how it now seemed to be coming back to haunt me.

"I'm sorry." I frowned up at him. He frowned back for a second and opened his mouth to answer but I cut him off. "You shouldn't have felt like you needed to come here and look out for me. That's ridiculous." I turned and walked back towards the bathroom before I could look at his face again.

"The fact that you think that in the first place is what's ridiculous." I heard him follow behind me. "I want to be here." I saw him lean against the door frame out of the corner of my eye.

"I don't see why." I muttered, half hoping he didn't hear me. But of course he did.

"Because I care about you, Baylee. Why is that so hard for you to understand?" He crossed his arms and I finally turned to look at him.

"Because I see no reason for you too. I literally have nothing to offer you. And I left a shit storm behind when I left and I see no reason for you to get dragged into all that garbage." I snapped before turning back to the mirror to continue to rub at my eyes even though no makeup was left.

"Why do you feel like you have to offer me something in return? I'm not asking for anything."

"That's what I don't get!" I raised my voice and turned back to him again. An uncomfortable silence lingered around us for a moment before he let out a sigh and pushed off the door frame and back into the living room. I threw the makeup wipe away and followed him out. He was leaning against the counter in the kitchen with a dark expression on his face.

"Is that how I make you feel?" His voice was low. "Like you're in my debt because I enjoy hanging out with you?" He crossed his arms again which I noticed were trembling.

"No." I mumbled and looked down at the ground not wanting to meet his eyes. "I just-" I took a few steps and sat on the edge of the couch. I didn't know how to word any of my feelings, really. I didn't even know what my feelings were. If I could barely sort through my own head, how did he expect me to be able to voice them?

"Baylee." His voice was quieter and the trembling in his arms seemed to have disappeared. He didn't move from his spot against the counter though. I stole a glance before looking back down. I noticed my phone on the table and clicked it to check the time. It was barely two in the morning. That meant if he had left when he called he still would have almost two hours to go.

I thought when I originally moved out here that it was so far away that I wouldn't ever be found. But now that Zack just jumped in a car and is on his way, suddenly I don't feel so far. Four hours is still too close.

"Look at me." Everything about his voice commanded attention. He stood up straight and his eyes looked so dark from my spot on the couch. "I care about you, whether you care about me or not, that's not going to change."

"Of course I care about you." I tried to glare at him for thinking otherwise but the expression on his face made it difficult.

He carried on like I hadn't interrupted him. "And I'm here for you, again whether you want me here or not. I'm not asking that give me anything. You don't own me a damn thing. I want to be here. I want to be around you. So stop assuming you know what I want or how I feel."

"I'm sorry." I mumbled again and looked back down at the floor. I heard him let out yet another deep sigh and silence filled the apartment. I didn't like it. "It will still probably be two hours until he gets here." I commented just to fill the space.

"So who is this guy exactly?" I heard him move and looked up to watch him make his way to the other end of the couch.

I snorted and turned so my back was against the arm of the couch and I pulled my legs up, facing him. "An old friend." I told him but that didn't sound right. "My ex's best friend actually." That sounded better but still didn't seem accurate.

"And he's calling you?" I should be annoyed that he's digging around but I can't be. I would be curious if I was in his situation too and I know I was being pretty tight lipped about everything.

"I don't know why either. Something must have happened. He sounded like he was crying on the phone." I picked with a string at the bottom of my shirt.

"He's coming from Everette too?" I was surprised he remembered where I was from. I nodded and glanced up at him. His head was on the back of the couch but turned to look at me.

"Yeah. We all grew up around there. I met him at the beginning of high school with Nick."

"And Nick is your ex, right?" He asked and I frowned. I didn't like talking about Nick for obvious reasons but it really didn't feel right listening to Jake talk about him.

"Yeah." I muttered.

"I know you don't like talking about it but I'll listen if you want." I glanced back up at him and tossed his words around in my head. We were friends and he probably did have a right to know but I just couldn't bring myself to relive that night. And I felt like I couldn't talk about Nick without bringing that up.

Didn't he have a right to know that the person he was spending all his time with had a record? He probably did but I felt like it would ruin whatever thing we have going on and I didn't know what I would do if just decided to walk away.

As adamant as I was about _just_ being friends, I was so attached to this friendship we had. He was a constant in my life almost since I got here and things have been great. So if I told him about Nick and all the horrible things that resulted from that relationship and he decided I was too bat shit crazy to be around, I'd probably end up in a dark place that I don't know if I would be able to crawl out of.

That thought alone scared the shit out of me. And what the hell was wrong with me that one minute I'm arguing and pushing him away and the next I'm thinking that he's become my rock.

"I can feel you thinking too hard." He reached out and tapped my leg. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He squeezed my calf and my leg straightened out so now my foot was touching the side of his thigh.

"I was thinking about you, actually." I blurted before I could stop myself.

"Uh oh." I could feel the heat coming from his jeans and onto my foot. Why was he always so warm? It was weird.

I needed to change the subject and fast though.

"How's work been?" It was a safe topic. He threw his arm over the back of the couch and lounged down a bit.

"Boring. A lot of small fixes. The Mazda is still kicking my ass." Ah yes, the car. An even safer subject.

"Why don't you just sell it and start a new car if it's bothering you this much?" I asked him and he frowned.

"That's like cheating. I'll finish it. Someday."

"Someday." I mocked with a small smile. He reached over and pinched my leg. I kicked his thigh a little and he grabbed my ankle, pulling my leg across his lap.

"You know, you could take a nap if you wanted to." The heat around my legs went through my yoga pants and into my skin. As weird as this was about him, I liked it. Like a personal space heater.

"I don't think I could sleep, even if I tried." I shrugged and sunk a little lower on the couch now that I had room to stretch across him. I reached over and grabbed my phone trying to think of something to kill time. "I'll try to find a game or something to kill the time."

"A game?" He asked and I opened up the app store on my phone.

"Yeah. Like what's that one game that's popular right now. Where you hold the phone up to your head and the other person has to guess what the word is? Something like that."

"Huh?" He looked confused. I snickered at him and tried to find the app.

"We'll try it. It's funny." I actually didn't know if it was funny or not but it would prove to be a good distraction.

"Whatever you say." He playfully pinched my leg again while I downloaded the silly game.

I ended up being right about it being funny. I learned very fast that Jake wasn't very good at using descriptive words but he tried his best. He would end up jokingly arguing over half the words we played. My phone's battery was slowly starting to die out but I didn't mind.

We were arguing over the difference between a snake and an eel when my phone's ringtone cut through the air, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin almost dropping the phone.

"Yeah?" I answered when I saw Zack's name on the screen.

"I'm here. I think. I don't fucking know." He mumbled and then the line went dead. My heart was beating so hard I felt like I was going to throw up. I glanced at the time and noticed he was a little earlier than I thought he would be.

I didn't really have time to dwell on it when I could hear a car's engine pull up outside and Miles perked up significantly.

"Hey." Jake grabbed my attention. "You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah." I muttered but I didn't really feel alright. My hands started trembling a bit and I still felt like I needed to vomit. Shoot, maybe that would make me feel better.

I stood up and Jake followed with Miles on his heels as well. I opened the door only to be blinded with headlights and his engine purring on the same little sports car he had back in high school. Jake shut the door behind us so Miles couldn't get out and I heard him let out a snort.

"A fucking Mazda…" He said under his breath but I wasn't paying attention. The engine cut along with the lights and I felt like time just stopped. I don't know how long I sat there before he opened the door but he didn't step out right away.

Maybe Jake was right about investing in a flood light or something. It was way too dark out here for my liking.

Finally after what seemed like forever, an arm slung over the top of the door and he pulled himself out. I was having deja vu about sitting outside watching him pull up in front of Nick's house. He closed the door quietly and stood there for a second before he made his way over.

"Hey, B."

I didn't need a lot of light to get a good look at his face before I gasped.

"Oh my god. What happened to you?!" I screeched taking a step forward to grab his face but thought better of it.

Dried blood ran down the side of his temple and his eye was so swollen he could barely open it.

"How did you drive like this?" I really didn't know what to do with my hands. "Are you okay?" It was a dumb question but it was all my brain could come up with.

"Do I look okay?" He bit back and I stepped back to opened the door but bumped into Jake. "Can I just fucking sit down or something?" He muttered and swayed for a second. Jake's reaction time was amazing as he reached out to grab Zack before he fell. I scrambled to open the door and shoo Miles away from the door so they could come in.

In the light, his face looked even worse. Between the blood and bruising, you could barely make out the whole left side of his face.

"You need to go to the hospital." If I wasn't shaking before, I for sure was now. I noticed Jake was holding more of Zack's weight up than I thought. He set him down on the couch and it was like a rag doll.

"No." He mumbled.

"No. I don't care. You need a fucking hospital. I'll call an ambulance." I muttered looking around for my phone.

"If you call, I'll leave." He muttered and his head drooped a bit.

"Zack you could have fucking brain damage or something. What the fuck happened?" Again, I'm mind-blown that he managed to drive himself at all.

"Nick." Was all he mumbled before he looked like he lost consciousness. I blinked and my mouth started to water a bit but I bit it down. I couldn't throw up right now. I looked up to Jake with panic and he looked just as lost as I felt.

And yet through all of this, I somehow wasn't surprised that Nick was involved.

* * *

FML by Kanye West


	18. Chapter 18

"I—" I blanked. "I…what…I" I stared at his face. The blood looked old and dark in color. I couldn't even tell where blood was coming from but it was up by his hair line so I assumed the side of his head. He must have taken several blows because his eye was swollen closed and his cheek was discolored all the way down to his jaw which was littered with cuts and gashes. His lip was busted open on one side.

He looked like he rolled around in the dirt and haven't showered in days. His hoodie was ripped at the color and the jacket he was wearing on top had a big slash in the sleeve. I finally managed to get my brain working when he slumped a little to the side and I thought he was going to fall over on the couch before Jake grabbed his shoulder and pushed him upright a bit.

"I don't care what you say. You're going to a hospital." I grabbed my phone and unlocked it wondering if I should just call 911 or drive him there myself.

"No. No insurance. No record." He muttered and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't care. You need help." I glanced at Jake who was standing in front of Zack making sure he wasn't going to fall over.

"No." He said a little louder this time. "They can't know where I'm at." I understood the insurance but he lost me now.

"Who can't know?" I asked but he was drooping again. "Hey! Zack." I stepped around Jake to tap his knee to wake him up but he seemed to be losing more consciousness by the second.

"Shit." I put my hands in my hair and turned to look at Jake.

"I'm going to lay him down. Go grab a towel." Jake grabbed my arm to get my attention and I didn't think twice. I ran to the bathroom and grabbed a towel. Jake took it from me and laid it on one end of the couch and helped Zack lay across so his head was on the towel.

"What if he's got like brain bleeding or something? He probably has a concussion." I sat down on the coffee table and grabbed my hair again. "He should just go to the hospital."

I looked from Zack to Jacob when he stayed silent. He had a deep frown on his face and he ran a hand over his face.

"Jake?" I asked when he said nothing.

"Do you trust me?" He blurted out.

"Huh?" I looked back at Zack. "He shouldn't be sleeping right? You're supposed to—"

"Do you trust me?" He cut me off and asked more clearly.

"I'm confused. Sure. What?" My brain was going into overdrive.

"Baylee." He snapped and I looked back up at him. His face was more serious than I've ever seen and it sent a shiver across my body. "Do. You. Trust. Me?"

"Yes." I blinked, my brain going blank, filled with thoughts of only Jacob.

"I promise I will explain everything to you but for right now, promise me you won't ask questions."

"What are you talking about?" I stood up from my spot on the coffee table and looked up at him but his expression had not changed. He turned and grabbed my face in both his hands.

"I promise I'll explain everything later." He let go of my face and he was pulling his phone out before I could even figure out what was going on.

I plopped back down on the coffee table having no idea what Jake was talking about and no idea what I'm supposed to do for Zack right now. I jumped when Jake's voice cut through everything.

"We've got a problem." I looked back up only to realize he was on the phone. I wondered who he called that would answer the phone at almost four in the morning.

"No." He growled into the phone. "We need a doctor to check on someone and I know your pompous ass has a medical degree. No, we can't."

I pinched my eyebrows together and tried to think of something to busy myself with. Maybe I could get a rag and try to clean the blood off his face. I didn't want to injure him any further though.

I had no clue who Jake was on the phone with that had a medical degree or that he even knew anyone like that but I did have a little knowledge about concussions and I assumed with a head injury like his, that's what Zack had. And I knew that people with concussions shouldn't be sleeping.

"Hey. Zack." I leaned forward and put my hand on his chest shaking a little. "Wake up." I shook a little harder and he made some groaning noise and turned his head a little. "Come on. Wake up." I hit his chest a little bit and he groaned.

"What?" He croaked out. "Fuck off." He turned his head again so I barely heard it but I wasn't surprised at the language.

"You have to stay awake." I shook his chest again but he had already passed out again.

"It's Baylee's friend. Yeah. He's got a head injury." I turned to look at Jake who glanced at me before rolling his eyes at whoever he was on the phone with a frown. "How fast can you get here?"

Who? Who was coming where? Here?

"Who?" I looked at Jake who was rubbing his face again.

"No. He's bleeding down the side of his face. Yeah. No. Yeah. I don't—Yeah. Look, if I had any other option I would use it. But since doctor daddy is away right now, you're my next unfortunate option." He completely ignored me and started pacing a little.

"Who are you talking to?" I asked a little louder and he glanced my way but didn't say anything.

"Yeah. And come alone. No. I don't give a fuck." He glared ahead and hung up the phone.

"Are you going to answer me?" I stood up but a groan from Zack had my attention back towards him. "Hey!" I shook his chest again and rolled his head in the other direction. "Zack. You can't sleep." I grabbed his jacket and shook a bit.

"Hey. I need you phased, _now_. Em is on patrol. Bring him." I turned back to Jake to see him on the phone again. "Yeah. Edward is on his way over. No. I'll explain later. Baylee's." He didn't wait for whoever was on the other end to answer before he hung up and was scrolling through again.

"Jake. You're freaking me out a little." I said and he put the phone back up to his ear. "If you keep ignoring me I'll—"

"I need you phased now. Baylee's." He put the phone back down.

"What the fuck is going on." I snapped, surprising even myself with how loud my voice was.

"Listen, this is going to be weird and next to impossible to explain right now."

"I don't care! Start explaining." I tried thinking of all the one sided conversations that I just heard. "And who the fuck knows where I live?" I could feel my heart rate pick up, my brain scrambling to think of an answer. That asshole cop knew, could he have shared it? Who else? Zack? But that didn't make sense. Jake…

"What did you do?" I glared at him and he pocketed his phone before making his way over to my seat on the coffee table but I stood up and took a step back.

"Baylee. This isn't going to make any sense but I will try to do everything I can to make you understand. You're going to think I'm crazy but I promise I won't let anything happen to you." I took another step back when he took one forward.

"You better start explaining what the hell you're talking about?" I glared at him.

"Edward is an old…acquaintance. He's got some medical experience. He's—"

"And how the fuck does he know where I live." I cut him off. I suddenly didn't feel safe. It was like that feeling of whatever was in the forest times ten. I felt trapped in my own home. If I ran would he think I was crazy? Was I crazy for even thinking that in the first place? I still had no idea what was going on but the need to not be here was becoming overwhelming.

"He's got this ability. Look, there are things in this world that you've never seen." He took another step forward and I didn't hesitate this time in stepping around the couch to avoid him. He actually looked hurt for a few seconds before he schooled his features.

"I told you, you're going to think I'm crazy but right now, this is for your friend and I'll explain or answer any questions you have once we solve this." He put his hands up in a surrendering motion.

"I think I'll just call the cops. I don't know what the fuck is going on and I don't need people at my house." My brain was jumping from thought to thought so fast, I was getting a headache.

"Listen, Edward can help and the other two people I called are friends for back up because I don't like Edward and I don't really want you around him."

"So you're bringing a fucking psycho person into my house? Are you even listening to yourself?" I glanced around for my phone that I noticed was sitting on the coffee table right next to Jake.

Fuck.

The kitchen was also behind him and that would be my best bet for a weapon if I needed one.

How fucking ironic that the thing I was arrested for is the first thing my brain seeks out? I had a small butchers block on the counter and it was like my brain instantly jumped back to that night over a year ago.

A knife barely helped me back then? Why would it help me now?

"Baylee. I promise I won't let anything happen to you." He sounded like he was pleading with me. An hour ago, I would have believed him.

"Yeah, that does nothing for me right now." I bit back sarcastically. Why had my last few days just seemed like a constant form of deja vu?

I looked at Miles who seemed to be standing in between us, glancing back and fourth like he was watching a tennis match. What were the chances that I could lunge forward and grab his collar without Jake being able to grab me? Probably slim to none. I couldn't run without him though.

I didn't have much time to formulate a plan when Miles' ears stood straight up and his tail went straight while he started a very low growl. Jake stood up straighter and looked a lot bigger than he had a few second ago.

"Hey." I snapped to Miles out of habit. His growling got louder and when there was a quiet knock at the door I about jumped out of my skin.

Miles was growling in a way I've never seen before and there was drool hanging from his mouth as he showed his teeth in a terrifying manner. His hair on his neck was standing up and he looked feral. Jake moved to the door and I scurried to stay out of his way while I grabbed at Miles' collar, hoping he wasn't going to turn and bite at me. He kept his eyes locked on the door and I wondered if I should start screaming at Jake but figured that wouldn't do any good. I vaguely heard Zack mutter something but my brain could only focus on so many things at once. When Jake opened the door, Miles about pulled my arm from its socket to charge. I managed to reach down with my other hand and garb his collar with both hands but it was using a lot of my strength to hold him back. He started barking like mad with his teeth bared. He was trying to run forward so much that he was choking himself against the collar. I couldn't see who was at the door because Jake's big frame blocked them but it didn't matter because I was only concerned about getting Miles to calm down.

"Hey hey hey!" I tried to pull him back but it was useless. Jake finally turned and looked back at us.

"Hey!" He boomed and I'm sure if I was a dog my ears would be pinned down like Miles was starting to do. The barking stopped but a low growl echoed around the room instead.

"How…noisy." Another voice spoke and I glanced up. I didn't think my eyes could get any wider. In front of me stood a hauntingly handsome man. Who looked oddly familiar. Where the fuck have I seen this man before?

"Smart dog." I heard Jake mutter as he made his way over to us. Miles' growling seemed to quiet a bit but he didn't completely stop. "Knock it off." He looked down and Miles and bopped him lightly on the nose.

"Don't touch my dog." Something in me snapped and I bent down to wrap my arms around a now quiet Miles. I know he didn't really hurt him but who the hell was he to do something like that?

"He was only going to hurt himself." Jake looked at me but I looked away and over to the beautiful man making his way over to Zack.

"What happened exactly?" I noticed he was carrying a bag with him that he set down on the coffee table. I've never seen someone move so gracefully before. It was like watching a ballerina or something.

"Don't know. He got out of the car and practically passed out." Jake crossed his arms and stood up taller again, looking towards this Adonis of a man. He looked at Jake for a second before glancing my direction.

I had seen those eyes before, I swear. Such a bizarre coloring.

"Yes, we have had the pleasure of meeting once, thanks to my lovely wife and her less than tactful curiosity." He spoke towards me and I couldn't stop my weight or thoughts from catching up to me and I plopped down on the ground, still keeping my hold on Miles who still had some hair sticking up. His wife, he said. Then it came to me like a lightbulb going off. I had served them once at the bar. I still didn't really believe that he was married, he hardly looked old enough but what did I know?

Then it dawned on me that I hadn't spoken to him yet. So how did he know I was trying to figure out where I had seen him? Was I that obvious? And what the hell was the comment about curiosity? Was I being stalked?

"You should have told her no." Jake snapped, uncrossing and crossing his arms again.

I had no idea what they were talking about but this was a situation I didn't really want to be in. I tried to think of where my car keys were so I could just flee. I needed to think of how to get Miles to follow me though. My phone was still on the coffee table, much too close to either of them for me to be able to grab it.

I tried to think back on how Nick had managed to corner me in the kitchen that god awful day and how to avoid putting myself in that situation again. He was always standing in a door way but fortunately this time, I had a clear shot to the front door. I glanced to see if it was locked or not.

"You aren't in any danger." The modern day Adonis spoke, snapping me from my planning. Jake let out a snort.

"You think I'm going to let anything happen to her?" He half growled towards this new man.

"You might want to let her know that then. She's forming a plan to run away from _both_ of us right now." He said quietly before turning back to the couch and Zack who was completely knocked out.

I'm sure my face drained of all blood and I could feel my arms shaking against Miles fur. How did he know what I was thinking? The urge to throw up was starting to creep back up on me.

Jake turned around and looked down at me with a frown on his face. Why did his eyes still looked like the held the world in them? I was upset at myself for thinking such thoughts right now.

"Baylee," He said much quieter this time. "I promise I'll keep you safe." It took everything inside of me to ignore how sincere he sounded. I wasn't going to be distracted by a false sense of security. After everything that had happened in my past, I told myself I wasn't going to be stupid anymore. I wasn't going to hang around stupid people, I wasn't going to make stupid decisions, and I wasn't going to act like that stupid girl I used to be. And using this logic, I wasn't stupid enough to think that I had any chance against either of them if something were to turn ugly.

"I can assure you, nothing is going to 'turn ugly'" He quoted me and before I could even think of a reply, I froze, letting my brain catch up to itself. I hadn't said anything out loud. I hadn't said a word in a few minutes now actually and yet this…creature, was staring right at me, addressing my thoughts as if he could hear them clear as day.

"I suppose we should address the elephant in the room. I can hear your thoughts." He said with a straight face.

I couldn't help it. I bursted out laughing. Jake glanced back when this guy spoke but snapped back to me when I started laughing.

"What the fuck?" I said through the tears that had started to form. What the actual fuck was happening?

I must have fallen asleep or something because there was no way any of this was actually happening. Between Zack showing up in his condition, Jake and I playing games on the couch, and now this mind reading Adonis standing in my apartment I had to have passed out at some point and this was all a dream.

"Unfortunately this is not a dream." He said and that had stopped my laughing almost cold in its tracks. There was absolutely no way this guy can actually read minds. And how did Jake know this guy? And what the hell other secrets were around here that I didn't know about?

"I think we all have secrets we don't necessarily feel like sharing with the rest of the world. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Don't patronize her." Jake practically snarled. "And help him out." He stuck his chin in Zack's direction. I felt guilty for almost completely forgetting he was here. His presence was the kick starter for all of this. But this weird man took his advice and turned to Zack while grabbing something out of the bag he brought.

"I—" I stuttered out. I didn't even know what I was trying to say. I couldn't fully comprehend what was happening around me.

Whatever thought that was trying to form in my brain came to complete halt when a howl that sounded almost right outside the front door echoed around the room.

"Bringing Embry, Jared, and Collin was hardly necessary." The man kneeling near Zack spoke and Jake let out another snort.

"Not taking any chances." He no longer sounded like the Jake I had become friends with somewhere over time. He sounded older and more feral. The other man kept quiet.

Miles let out a small yip and his tail started to slowly swish, hitting me in the leg every time. I tightened my arms around him but he seemed determined to bounce towards the door.

It was difficult while using most of my upper body strength to hold on to Miles but I tried to reevaluate the situation happening.

Zack calling crying.

Jake and I goofing off for hours on the couch.

Zack showing up beat to hell.

Jake asking if I trusted him.

Zack passing out.

Jake making some phone calls and practically transforming into a different man right before my eyes.

Enter this stranger who knew where I lived, apparently had a medical degree despite looking younger than either of us, and had already met me at work. Also his presence setting Miles off.

Me, trying to form some sort of plan to escape, only to figure out that the guy knows my every move.

And now noises all around the front of my apartment.

Maybe in all this weirdness the monster from the forest has finally decided to make itself known and was going to kill all of us.

I didn't know what was better. Potentially dying by the hands of this stranger or from a monster that's been haunting my dreams for weeks.

Either way, I was fucked.

* * *

Lost My Mind by Dillion Francis & Alison Wonderland


	19. Chapter 19

No matter how I looked at this situation, there was no winning for myself. I had been backed into a corner. Figuratively and somewhat literally. I did not have my phone on me and while I was the closest person in the room to the door, I couldn't just leave Zack in the hands of these psychopaths.

Where had I gone wrong?

I mean, Jake was almost the polar opposite of Nick in every sense. He was kind and funny and sweet. Nick was cruel and snippy and abusive. Was there signs that he was a psycho and I had just been blinded by them? I remember learning that most serial killers were very charismatic. In high school I had gone through a phase while taking a psychology elective of reading about every infamous serial killer known. Ted Bundy was so charismatic he managed to convince people he was innocent because nobody that great could murder, right? And John Wayne Gacy used to be a children's entertainer who was friendly as can be while shoving young kids bodies in his crawl space. Was this how all their victims felt right before they realized they were going to die? At what point did they realize that they weren't going to escape because I felt like I was coming close to that moment.

I saw the man who was now pulling what looked like a thread out glance in my direction before continuing with what he was doing. I didn't realize he had gotten up to grab a rag because all the blood had been wiped off of Zack's face and it looked like he was going to start stitching up the wound. If I wasn't glued to my spot with Miles I would have liked to seen how big the actual head wound was. Obviously serious enough that he needed stitches.

I hated myself for not being able to think of a solution. This was a flight or fight moment and it seemed like neither option was available to me. With Nick it had been easy. Fight back. That's all our relationship was, fighting. When he had come at me with that razor blade it took no time for my brain to flash to the butcher block in the kitchen. Fight fire with fire. He had already half corralled me in that direction and I was going to use my resources to go out swinging. I would relive that god awful night all over again if it meant being out of this horrible situation.

"I can assure you that nobody is going to be doing anything like that." The guy spoke from his spot next to Zack, breaking the silence. He had finished stitching the side of his head and pulled out what looked like an IV from the bag he had brought. I tried to match his sentence to what was happening but I was drawing a blank.

"You keep comparing that situation in your past to the present." He spoke up again and for the millionth time that night, the urge to vomit came back. "I want you to know that they are completely different and that neither of us will be harming you in any way." He pulled the sleeve up of Zack's jacket and continued on with whatever he was doing. I was a horrible friend for just letting him do god knows what to Zack. Actually we weren't even friends anymore. I guess that just made me a horrible human being in general.

"I stitched up the wound on his head and he most likely passed out due to a combination of blood loss and dehydration. I'm giving him an IV of fluids to help. My name is Edward by the way. You can stop referring to me as a serial killer in your head." Jake snorted from somewhere next to me.

"Stop doing that." I finally managed to find words. My voice was so shaky it sounded foreign to me.

"I can't shut it off." He held the IV up a bit and let it drip down the tube. I wondered how long he was going to be able to hold it like that before his arm got tired.

Two quick knocks on the door had me jumping out of my skin. I had to choke down vomit yet again.

"Jake." Someone said as the door opened. I pushed myself back to the wall as best as I could without letting go of Miles who was scrambling to get out of my arms and to the man who had just walked in. It took me a second but I recognized him as Jake's friend who had stopped by the bar once or twice with him. He was wearing nothing but a pair of cut off jean shorts. Not even shoes.

Three very large men vs me. I suddenly couldn't really catch my breath. His friend just walked into my apartment with ease. What else could he do? What could any of them do to me? Suddenly Nick and his pathetic razor blade seemed like nothing compared to this. Was anybody going to miss me? Most likely not. My posh aunt and cousin in Seattle would most likely be the only ones notified. I wondered how long it would take for them to realize I was even missing. Most likely a while. What a horrible life I had led. Way too many drugs, way too many encounters with the police, way too many dead end serving jobs, way too many bruises to both my body and ego. So how fitting this was how it was going to end for me, right? Death by…well I wasn't sure of that yet but I just hoped it was fast.

"Baylee!" Jake had snapped out of whatever quietness he had fallen under and came at me.

"STOP!" I managed to scream but then the air just got stuck in my throat. When my arms lost any muscle they had, Miles took the opportunity and bolted to the new comer, tail wagging like mad. That's when my heart had sank and I hit that moment of hopelessness.

I couldn't catch any air in my lungs and for a moment the edges of my vision blurred while I tried to take a breath.

"Baylee!" Suddenly Jake was in front of me but it was difficult to focus on him and he sounded like he was underwater. I couldn't hear anything but a pounding while my vision blurred again. My head felt like it weighed a million pounds. "Breathe. You need to breathe." I felt his hands on my skin leaving behind burns and everything still sounded like it was underwater. It was hard to focus on everything happening. I heard them talking for a moment but I couldn't hear anyones actual words.

If they were going to kill me, why haven't they yet?

"Miles!" Jake's voice broke through the pounding in my head. "Come here." I felt him tapping my leg before my vision was filled with the dirty colored fluff that had become my best friend. On auto pilot my hand reached out to grab his fur and the second I did, I wrapped my hand around his back.

"See?" Jacob's voice seemed a bit clearer and I drew my eyes from the fur to watch Jake plop back on his butt and put his hands across the tops of his knees. "Everything is going to be okay." He let out a sigh and leaned back a bit more. I couldn't look at him for very long before glancing back at Miles who was panting happily, oblivious to anything going on. I took a deep breath but it seemed shaky. It was still difficult to catch a full breath.

"I'm sorry." A voice finally broke the silence. I jumped a little before glancing over at the shirtless figure standing by the door. "I didn't mean to cause anything." He put his hands up in a surrendering motion.

"It's fine, Emb." Jake muttered but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. I continued to run my fingers through Miles' fur while I tried to gather my thoughts again.

"So what's the deal with him?" Jake's friend took a giant step into the room and looked down at Zack who was on the couch.

"He's got a concussion and a large laceration on his temple. He's pretty dehydrated as well. He should heal up just fine." The mind-reader said. I chanced a glance in his direction to see he was still holding up the now almost empty IV bag. Did I really just think that? Mind-reader? What the fuck was this life?

"So who is he?" I looked back down to Miles but I could feel everyone's eyes burning into me. I was beyond thankful that Miles hadn't moved away from me yet. I probably would have started panicking again if not for him. It wasn't lost on me though that nobody had answered him.

"Well you were right in calling. He needed stitches before the cut got infected." The mind reader moved to pull the needle from his arm before rolling the cord up and putting it back into the bag he brought. "And Baylee was correct." I couldn't stop myself from looking up when he said my name.

"He should be checked on but not for a few hours. If he was able to function enough to drive a manual car, it's not as serious as initially thought of." The prick I was really coming not to like, spoke.

"Okay." Jake mumbled and turned his head a bit in his direction. I still couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'd recommend waking him up around nine or ten just to make sure he can perform coherent sentences. If so, he is most likely okay." He stood and threw the bag over his shoulder. "If not, call." A small silence lingered over the room.

"That's it?" I finally broke it. I looked over to Zack. Realistically, I thought he was screwed. There was too much blood for my liking. But what did I know?

"That's common for a head wound. They bleed a bit more than normal wounds." The fucker I didn't like looked my way before turning towards Jake.

I took the opportunity to look back towards Miles. He'd taken the back petting as an invitation to sit down next to my hip. He seemed pretty content not to go anywhere. Meanwhile, my mind was racing a million miles per minute. I wish I could just sit down and relax my body just like him.

"Again, check on him in the morning. If he can speak normally, he'll be okay. If not, call immediately. However, his thoughts and dreams seem to be okay. I believe he'll be fine in the long run."

I finally managed to look up around the room. Instantly my eyes landed on Jake who was sitting in a similar position to myself but was turned to look at the mind reader. The guy by the couch now still stood there half naked with his arms crossed looking at Jake.

Jake suddenly sprang to his feet as the mind reader got ready to leave.

"Thanks." I heard him but it sounded like he was grumbling.

"Of course. I'm happy to help." He said before turning towards me with his bag. "Baylee," He smiled and I glanced up. I felt like he was too good to look at though. Like, it was almost painful. What the hell were my emotions today? "I hope you have a better night and that your friend remains okay. Despite all your thoughts tonight, I assure you that nobody is out to hurt you. Instead it's the opposite. Jacob and his friends care deeply for you and only want the best. I hope you clear your head and your evening turns out better." He shot me a small smile before moving towards the door.

Jake followed after him and his shirtless friend trailed behind. I looked back towards Miles and grabbed another bit of fur on his back. He was still just happily sitting, ignorant to everything around him.

I thought back to the weird statement left for me. I went from thinking he was going to kill me to him helping Zack and leaving no problem. Granted, I was mind fucked by learning he could supposedly read my mind but other than that there were no issues. I guess my panic levels sank a little but the whole situation still left a bad taste in my mouth.

I heard the door opened and Jake had no problem ushering everyone outside. Miles stood up to follow but I quickly grabbed his collar and held on to him. I tried to think of what was going to happen next. I glanced towards the door that was only half open now with Jake almost standing outside talking too quietly for me to hear. I noticed the sky was lighter in the background. What time was it? I glanced towards Zack, oblivious to all of this on the couch. I was trying to think of what was going to happen next when my eyes caught sight of my phone on the coffee table.

I wasted no time in letting go of Miles who was so startled by my movements that he jumped up with me. I scrambled to grab the phone and held onto it like it was my life line. Did I call the police? What would I even say? A mind reader just gave my friend stitches on my couch but I think he's going to come for me next? I don't even think my brain is even fully processing what is going on here.

My heart started pounding painfully when the door closed and I looked up to see Jake leaning against the back of it staring at me with a painful expression.

"I truly did not mean to put you in this situation." His words did nothing to soothe the building anxiety forming in the pit of my stomach. Was this it? Was this that moment of no escape? "I—" His eyebrows pinched together and he genuinely looked like he was in pain. "I can explain." He finally choked out.

Explain what exactly? I chanced a glance down at my phone. The idea of calling the police seemed a little more appealing right about now.

"Look, Baylee…" He pushed off the door and took a step into the room. I went to take a step back but tripped into the coffee table. Jake stopped moving and sighed, putting both of his hands in his hair. "Baylee," He repeated. "This is going to sound so ridiculous and I already have a feeling you're not going to believe anything I have to say but, if anything, I want you to know that nobody is going to harm you. I don't—" He took another big sigh and I've never seen him look so frustrated. "I don't know exactly what Edward was talking about but if you've been hurt before or…or something like that, please just know I would never do that to you."

Something in me snapped.

"You don't know what the hell I've been through so don't sit there and act like you have any clue because some weird as fuck psychic told you so." I practically growled at him. At least I managed to find my voice, even if it still didn't exactly sound like me. However I wish I didn't sound as stupid as I felt saying that out loud.

"I—" I don't think I've ever seen him at such a loss for words. "You're right." He was frowning so deep I almost thought his face was going to be permanently stuck like that. This was a side of him that I had yet to see. With every passing second he seemed to lose all sense of confidence and I didn't know if that was a blessing for me or not. I didn't need him turning erratic and doing something unpredictable.

"Can you just let me explain as best as I can and then if you want nothing to do with me, I promise I'll leave you alone?" Forget the frown, he almost looked like he was going to start crying. The silence that followed was heavy.

I glanced down at Zack who was still passed out to the world.

"It does need to be private though." I looked back up at Jake and he shook his head. "I mean, only you can know. I can't risk him over hearing." He nodded his head towards the couch.

"I'm not just going to leave him here." I glared at him and he seemed to lose a bit of the melancholy look that had taken over his face.

"We can go outside."

"The hell we-"

"Baylee. _Please_." I felt like his eyes were burning into mine. "Bring Miles with." He added so quietly I almost didn't hear him. I looked down at Miles who was squished between the couch and the coffee table waiting for something to happen.

I don't know what in my brain possessed me to agree to go with him but eventually I stepped around the couch and looked for Miles leash. Maybe it was my dog staring at me like he was ready to do anything or maybe it was Jake who's eyes held so many different emotions I couldn't keep up. Maybe it was even Zack laying passed out on my couch even though I swore just a few hours ago I was going to have nothing to do with him and yet here he was.

I clipped on his leash and made sure I had my phone on me. Jake opened the door and stepped outside letting me follow him. Miles was happily wagging his tail at the thought of being able to go outside.

The sun was slowly starting to rise behind all the clouds and I glanced down at my phone to check the time. It was still early morning and I vaguely thought about how I had to work later tonight. Miles instantly put his nose to the ground and started sniffing around, pulling on the leash towards the tree line.

"Hey." Jake said in that deep voice that just screamed authority. I jumped at the sound only to realize he wasn't talking to me. "None of that." He lightly bopped Miles on the nose and the dog instantly put his ears back.

"Don't touch him." I snapped glaring at him. Who was he to put his hands on my dog?

"He was going to run for the trees again." He stood up and took a step back any ways. "He keeps smelling us and thinks he can just follow along." He added and I raised an eyebrow at him.

Smelling who? Us?

"Which is what I wanted to explain." He frowned again. I don't think he could frown any harder but he was proving me wrong."Look, this is going to sound crazy but I need you to have an open mind. And I'm not exactly the best at telling these. My dad is. You should really hear it from him." He ran a hand through his hair again leaving it tossed in every direction.

"The legends of our tribe."

"You dragged me out here to give me a history lesson? Fucking seriously?" I glared at him and jumped when he let out a bark of a laugh.

"Yeah, something like that. You like history, right?" He calmed down and bit.

I rolled my eyes and turned away, pulling Miles with me. "Give me a fucking break."

"Wait!" All humor was gone. He reached out to grab my arm but my glare must have stopped him because he dropped his hand. "I'm not joking. I'm sorry for laughing."

I stopped walking but continued to glare at him.

"The legends are like the history of our tribe. But they are based in truth and I promise that at the end of them, it'll explain everything. The weird night, Edward being able to get in your head, why my skin is always hot, and that night where you accidentally saw… something in the trees."

Everything he was listing was actually things I did want to know until he got to the end. That thing in the trees. The thing that had haunted me for days and nights on end.

I tried to focus back on his words. Accidentally? Meaning I wasn't supposed to see it. I could feel the urge to vomit come back a bit. Everything about this has made me sick. Maybe I had anxiety issues? Or maybe my body was right in being anxious because I was about to be murdered after a quick history lesson. What a way to go. At this point, I'm tempted to just deal with the mind reader again.

I looked towards the tree line that suddenly seemed a little more terrifying after his words.

"Look, it's going to sound dumb at first but obviously I don't know what the hell to do anymore so I'm just going to rip it off like a bandaid." His stress levels seemed to rival mine now which did nothing to calm me down.

"I'm what's called a spirit warrior. I can shift into a wolf."

Silence settled over us before I could process his words.

And then I busted out laughing. Did he even hear himself?

"This is a joke, right?" I bent over a little from laughing. "After this whole fucking night, _that's_ what you're going to go with?" I don't know if it was the entire situation or the lack of sleep or what but I couldn't stop laughing. At least if I was going to die I was going out with a smile on my face? Is that the bright side of this whole situation?

"I'm not joking, Baylee." The frown on his face didn't seem to match the situation at hand. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes from laughing so much.

"Get the fuck away from me." I turned to walk back inside. I'm sure my comment held little weight to it when I was still laughing.

"Will you just give me like, five minutes? I'm serious."

I turned to glance back at him but I wish I wouldn't have. His expression was borderline heartbreaking. For a split second, I almost wanted to believe him just so he would get rid of that expression. I turned back around and headed for the door.

"Baylee. Please."

I hesitated in my steps and I don't exactly know why. The pain and desperation leaked into his voice so much it had me questioning things for a split second.

"I can…show you."

That had me stopping and turning back around. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well let's see it." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I can't do it right here. Or so close to you."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Of course not." I bit back sarcastically. I was going to turn back to go inside but he was oddly stepping back and pulling his shirt off.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I half screeched. I hated myself for instantly being drawn to the perfectly sculpted abs. I forced myself to look back to his face but didn't really have time to self loath because I was too distracted as to why he was pulling his pants off.

I really screeched this time and took a step back.

"Our clothes rip when we shift." He hurriedly explained, not that I was really listening to what he was saying. "Give me one minute and if you don't believe me then, I promise I'll never contact you again."

Now that was an offer that was looking like gold. I could feel myself nod even though my body was feeling pretty numb right now.

Jake made his way to the tree line and I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing but I couldn't find the words. I just watched as he quickly dipped behind a cluster of trees and for just one second everything was quiet.

I stared into the trees not seeing anything but after a large rustling of leaves I saw darker russet colored hair fly up and two seconds later I was staring at a face. Of an animal. It was the weirdest sense of deja vu. And then the animal mixed into the greenery around it before everything went black.

At least it was quiet now.

* * *

Help I'm Alive by Metric


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